Kathy Murphy

Kathy Garner Murphy passed away early Tuesday morning at Sacred Heart Hospital following a long valiant fight against cancer that ultimately claimed her. Kathy was born in Dyer, Tennessee on August 5, 1949 to the late Robert and Genette Hanks Garner, and grew up working in cotton fields with her family, poor only in money. She decided early that she wanted to work in hospitals because "hospitals were clean and fields were not". Attending Union University and pursing advanced degrees she found her calling as a physical therapist, using her gifts to help people live the best lives they could. As an officer in the Air Force, she lived all over the country and married her husband James Murphy of Marcellus, NY in 1977. When James passed away, she raised two kids on her own and both of them she was their rock. In all circumstances, her first thoughts were for those she loved. And for them her strength never failed. Kathy is survived by her son Steven Murphy of Niceville FL.; her daughter Erin, son-in-law Jeremy, and grandson Malcom Borthwick of Boston, MA; and her sister Barbara and bro-in-law James Criswell of Jackson, TN. Services will occur Saturday, November 7th at McLaughlin Twin Cities Funeral Home in Niceville, Fl. Visitation is from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. with memorial beginning at 2:00 p.m. She will be transported home to Tennessee, to be laid to rest. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, November 10, 2015 from 5-8 p.m. in the Chapel of Karnes and Son Funeral Home in Dyer with funeral service on Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. Burial will be in the Yorkville Cemetery. In Lieu of flowers, donation to any of the following charities in her name would be appreciated, as they do the work she committed her life to - improve people's quality of life through medicine; St. Jude Children's Hospital, March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, and the American Heart Association. Karnes and Son Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Mrs. Kathy Garner Murphy.