Obituary of Daniel C. Murphy

Daniel C. Murphy died on July 7, 2020.Dan was born January 15, 1931, the second of three children to Terrence and Lenora Murphy of Bordulac, North Dakota. He graduated from North Dakota State College in 1953 with a degree in engineering. After graduation, he joined the Army Air Corps and while stationed in Topeka Kansas, met his bride Connie Waterman on a blind date set up by her sister, Carol. They were married 3 months later in April 1956. Immediately after the wedding, Dan and Connie moved to Cameron, Louisiana where Dan started working for Schlumberger Well Services. Dan enjoyed a long career in the petroleum industry. His career took him and his family to Louisiana, England, Ohio, and finally in 1981 to Fort Worth where he later retired. Dan and Connie were married for 50 years until Connie’s death in 2007. Dan was blessed to find love a second time with Sara Jane O’Brien and they were married in April 2012.Following his career with Schlumberger, Dan remained active in the petroleum industry as a consultant, active member of the Schlumberger Retirees Group, member of the Geological Society, The Society of Petroleum Engineers, founder of the Oil Information Library, and Director of the Petroleum Club. He loved to travel. His most memorable trips included rafting through the Grand Canyon, cruising to Alaska, visiting Tahiti, New Zealand, and Australia, cruising the fjords of Norway, and visiting the Holy Land. He was a long time member of the Colonial Country Club where he loved to golf with his foursome buddies and have brunch on Sunday mornings. Shortly after retirement, Dan started volunteering with AARP Tax-Aide doing pro bono tax work. He spent the next 30 years as a tax preparer, group leader, volunteer trainer, and coordinator. He was also a volunteer guardian for many people who otherwise had no one to advocate for them. Dan loved to help solve problems; whether it was a dented car, a broken drawer, a mis-wired 3-way switch, or a financial problem, he would always do his best to help. Dan was the epitome of a family man; a devoted husband, father of six, grandfather of 17, and great grandfather of 8. Though his family members were scattered across the country, he kept family close by bringing them together for special holiday celebrations and reunions in fun destinations. He traveled to visit every new baby, attended a lot of first communions, and never missed a graduation if he could help it. He also stayed close to his family in North Dakota. He loved visiting the family farm and telling/hearing stories with his brother, John Murphy and sister, Mary K Puffe. Dan is preceded in death by his parents, wife Connie, and brother John Murphy. He is survived by his wife, Sara Jane; sister, Mary K. Puffe; children, Karen Oaks (Wayne), Patrick (Marcia), Mary Ann Hoelscher (Bill), Susan Olinger (Terry), Colleen Galles (Charles), Daniel (Carrie); grandchildren, Kaitlyn, Rebecca, and Andrea Oaks, Kelley, Ryan, Melissa Murphy, and Nicole Dunn (Daniel), Stephanie Baynham (Jeffrey), Patrick, and Nicholas Hoelscher, Alyssa Higginbotham (Dylan), Angela and Lee Olinger, Eric, Matthew, and Maria Galles and Landry Murphy; great-grandchildren, Gavin, Aiden, Jaxson, Lincoln, Lyra, Charlotte, Oliver, and Mark.