Helen Jo Murphy

September 15, 1939 - May 28, 2018

Our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and sister, Helen Jo Murphy, 78, passed from this life on May 28, 2018 at her home in Springville, Utah, after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Helen Jo was born September 15, 1939, in Denver, Colorado, to Bernard Sanford and Wanda Arrowsmith Walker, the second of their eight children. During her growing up years the family also lived in Seattle, Washington; Bountiful, Utah; and Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona. It was while the family lived in Arizona that Helen Jo met Clive Murphy, who she eventually married in the Mesa Arizona LDS Temple. They spent most of their life together in Southern California, raising their five children (a sixth child, Michael, died shortly after birth) and serving faithfully in a wide variety of LDS Church responsibilities on both the ward and stake levels. In their later years, Helen and Clive served LDS missions to England, Nauvoo, and Salt Lake City in the Church and Family History Mission, where Helen Jo worked on the Joseph Smith Papers. They also served for three years in the Los Angeles Temple as a counselor in the presidency and an assistant to the matron. More than anything else, however, Helen Jo was passionate about her family. She adored Clive, and loved her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren with a fervent and abiding love. Her profound impact on our lives and her place in our hearts will endure forever. In addition to her son Michael, Helen Jo was preceded in death by her parents, her elder sister Jean Ellen Hyer and brothers Bernard S. Jr. and Richard A. Walker, as well as two infant grandsons. She is survived by her beloved husband Clive, who devotedly and tenderly cared for her during the declining years of her life. She is also survived by her children, Julie (Ronald) White, La Verne, California; Jeffrey C. (Karen) Murphy, Glendora, California; Sheri (Steven) Lambert, Brentwood, Tennessee; Michelle (Brian) Lish, Camarillo, California; Rebecca (Jason) Miller, Springville, Utah; 25 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and siblings, Robert M. (Kristen) Walker, Mesa, Arizona; Wanda Lynne (Ronald) Funk, Lehi, Utah; Kathryn Ann (Michael) Rawson, Salem, Utah; and Joseph (Anita) Walker, Layton, Utah. Funeral Services will be held Friday, June 1, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at the Hobble Creek 15th Ward Chapel, 2379 East River Bottom Road, Springville, Utah. Friends and family may call from 9:00 to 10:30 the morning of the service at the ward building. Interment will be at Eastlawn Memorial Hills Cemetery, 4800 North 650 East, Provo, immediately following the funeral service. Funeral Directors: Utah Valley Mortuary.