IN MEMORIAM | Former Faculty

NANCY MULFORD MURPHY, passed away peacefully on January 28, 2021, at her home on Fishers Island, NY. Nancy was born in 1922 in Schenectady, NY to Marion Bush and Allen Mulford, an International General Electric engineer. Except for a brief period when her father was on a special project in India, she grew up in Schenectady. Nancy graduated from Vassar in 1943 and began her career as a chemical engineer with Hercules Powder Co. and the General Electric Company eventually working at the Knowles atomic power laboratory. Many of her lifelong friends came from either Schenectady or Vassar. She was introduced to Fishers by friends Sally Ferguson and Cherry (Rice) Rafferty. This is where she met her husband, Gordon S. Murphy, and was introduced to saltwater sailing. They married in 1952 and eventually moved to Briarcliff Manor, NY.

In the mid-60s, she completed her Masters in Education and Psychology from Teachers College at Columbia University and began, with a passion spurred by her strong conviction that everyone should have an excellent education, a twenty-year second career with Greenwich Country Day School where she worked in Developmental Learning. Never one to sit down for long, she was an avid volunteer, working with organizations ranging from various Junior Leagues to the Fishers Island Library. In retirement, always hungry for knowledge, she felt socially uncomfortable, I was given a most valuable education there. For that I am thankful. I can say that GCDS made a well-rounded scholar of me. ) enjoyed numerous trips to Europe and Africa with both the Smithsonian Institute and her friends. Most of all, she loved spending as much time as possible on Fishers Island, enjoying lunches with her friends, bible study, Sunday church services, her garden, and reading.

She is survived by her son, Gordon S. Murphy, Jr. and her grandson, William G. Murphy. Pictured: Nancy Murphy (center) with her Developmental Learning colleagues Rhonda Perlman and Diane Dagliesh in 1986.

Current and former GCDS parents gathered at French Farm on Saturday, April 30, for the launch of Friends of French Farm, an engagement and support initiative to further its mission and programming. Farm Manager Aaron Sinay provided tours and parent leaders shared the importance of the farm in the overall GCDS educational program.