Murphy, Marilyn, 1921-2012
Dates
- Existence: 1921-2012
Biography
Marilyn O. Delaney Murphy, homemaker and faith-based social activist, was born in 1921 in Ponca, Nebraska, to Raymond and Mary Frances Delaney. She served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1945. In 1947 she graduated from Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa, and married Raymond William Murphy. They had three children: Timothy, Molly, and Margaret. Raymond Murphy died in 1976. Marilyn Murphy remained a homemaker until 1972 when she became the Social Concerns Facilitator/Rural Life Contact for Catholic Charities, Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa. In that capacity, she wrote commentaries for The Globe, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Sioux City. In the 1980s, she became actively involved with peace organizations such as the Iowa Church Leaders Peace Caravan and Siouxlanders Concerned About the Nuclear Arms Race (SCANAR), an ecumenical citizens’ group seeking the reduction of nuclear arms and the promotion of peaceful alternatives. Murphy also advocated women’s rights through her work with Justice for Women in the Church, Inc., and the Siouxland Women’s Political Caucus (SWPC), serving on its Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) committee. In 1988 Marilyn Murphy was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame. During the 1990s, Marilyn Murphy served on the United Way of Siouxland’s women’s task force. She remained an activist, especially in Catholic social justice organizations, for a wide range of issues both in Siouxland and abroad, through at least 2010. Murphy passed away May 28, 2012, at the age of 91.