Wichita Presbyterian Manor
Moments define a life FEBRUARY 2022
Resident’s life bracketed by the sports he loves For most of his life, Lyle “Dean” Murphy has enjoyed athletic pursuits. The Lawrence, Kan., native and longtime resident of Wichita Presbyterian Manor “couldn’t have been more than 10” when he started playing baseball. He played on a Junior Legion team until the age of 17. After that, Dean suited up for the semiprofessional teams the Lawrence Colts (“I sat on the bench for a year”) and the Lawrence Merchants. On one memorable occasion, the Merchants manager, a well-known local baseball player, asked him to pitch. The only problem? Dean was an outfielder, and he threw a lot of balls.
Dean Murphy and his greatgrandson Scottie after playing a round of golf.
As it happened, Dean’s older brother was the catcher. He was more annoyed by Dean’s poor performance than their genial manager, who trotted out to the mound to pull the outfielder from the game. “With a smile on his face, he said, ‘Here Dean, I’ll take the ball,’” Dean recalls.
As a child, Dean played softball at school and baseball in the Junior Legion league.
His baseball career didn’t end when he enlisted in the Air Force — Dean played on the team at Larson Air Force Base, where he was stationed before serving overseas. They competed against teams representing other military bases in Washington as well as Hill Air Force Base in northern Utah.
Murphy – continued on page 2
By Greg Schmidt, Chaplain
NOTE: Each month, we feature a column from one of PMMA’s community chaplains in honor of our faith-based roots. This month, we’re featuring Greg Schmidt, chaplain for Heart & Soul Hospice in Wichita and Newton Presbyterian Manor. Have you noticed that every Hallmark movie follows the same basic algorithm? Here’s how it goes: A princess-damsel presents with some sort of professional or social dilemma. In walks a socially awkward, wannabe prince-hero who demonstrates the desire to provide support or answers. His advances are, of course, rebuffed. A second “Captain Obvious” prince-snob rises to the challenge, but in his rush to care for the princess, manifests an arrogant, superior, you-know-youneed-me spirit. While at first the princess foolishly longs for the attention of Captain Obvious, ever so slowly over the course of the movie she falls in love with Mr. Wannabe’s cute little nerdy self. They finally kiss (it never happens until the end). The rocket’s red glare engulfs the sky. And they live happily ever after in Mayberry. Or is that Whoville? My response to Hallmark’s oversimplification is best stated by Remy, the Disney character in the movie “Ratatouille” who said, “The only thing predictable about life is its unpredictability.” Real life is not simple. Or predictable. It has to be understood over the course of years,
Memories – continued on page 3
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