By Donna Cornelius
In 1990, Maury Wald had just started a brand-new suburban newspaper, the Over the Mountain Journal – and he had a particular space to fill.
“We had a spot in the paper to run guest columns, and we received some good ones – and some not so good,” said Wald, the OTMJ’s owner and publisher.
Out of all the would-be writers who wanted the job, one stood out: Susan Murphy.
“With Sue’s first submission, ‘I Fought the Lawn, and the Lawn Won,’ in our Sept. 13, 1990, issue, we knew we had someone special writing for us,” Wald said. “She quickly took over the guest column spot, and we renamed it ‘Murphy’s Law.’”
The issue you’re reading now marks the first time in more than 32 years that, sadly, the OTMJ again has a space on page 2 to fill. Susan Bramble Murphy died at age 68 on May 30 after a courageous battle with cancer.
Sue leaves behind two daughters, Katie Price of Ross Bridge and Shannon Suarez of Windermere, Florida; her much-loved grandchildren Jackson, Madison, Abigail and Ethan, who range in age from 13 to 8; and a sister, Donna.
Born Sept. 6, 1954, in New London, Connecticut, Sue graduated from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse in 1976 and earned a master’s degree from the University of Montevallo in 1993. She and Bill Murphy married in 1974.
In addition to being a talented writer, Sue was a kindergarten teacher at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School. Family and friends celebrated her life with a funeral mass at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church on June 5.
While Sue often used her wise, gentle humor to write about her family in “Murphy’s Law” columns, Katie and Shannon said they never worried that their mother would share too much information about her daughters.
“Mom was very good about respecting and avoiding any topics that might embarrass me,” Shannon said. “We never had to have a discussion about something being off limits. It was just a mutual understanding.”
Katie said her mother was so careful not to bring unwanted attention to her girls that she referred to them as “Kathy” and “Sharon” in her columns.
“We weren’t terribly aware of her columns when we were younger,” Katie said, but she added that as she and Shannon got older, it was fun to hear other people praise their mom’s writing.
“It was like being related to a celebrity,” Katie said. “It’s nice for us to read her columns now and say, ‘Oh, I remember that.’”
Shannon said her mom had a wonderful sense of humor.
“I loved that she had this outlet to share it with others,” she said.
In addition to “Murphy’s Law,” Sue also wrote several books, and her column won awards from the Alabama Press Association.
Wanderlust
Sue loved to travel. Her favorite trips included journeys to Australia and New Zealand, lake and river cruises in the U.S. and Canada with her sister and brother-in-law, and to Disney World’s Wilderness Lodge, which Shannon called her mom’s “happy place.”
Sue also realized a longtime dream of visiting France, preparing for it by studying French through Rosetta Stone courses – and she went there all by herself after her husband’s death. Her last trip was to an event that she was determined not to miss.
“She went to Florida for her grandson Jackson’s confirmation,” Katie said. “She was his sponsor.”
“Selfless”
Two causes were particularly dear to Sue’s heart. One of them is Unbound, a nonprofit organization that uses a sponsorship program to help poverty-stricken families in Africa, Asia and Latin America become self-sufficient.
“Somebody spoke at her church about Unbound and put up pictures of the kids available to ‘adopt,’” Katie said.
Sue chose one little boy for a special reason.
“She said, ‘He looked angry, like he needed me,’” Katie said.
Shannon said her mother wrote often to the two children she sponsored through Unbound.
“She supported their education, and Katie and I will continue this work for her,” Shannon said.
Another of Sue’s pet causes was literally that: the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.
“Mom had a huge soft spot for animals,” Shannon said. “She never wanted to see any animal hurt or unloved.”
Shannon and Katie said their mom had qualities that they strive to incorporate into their lives.
“My mother was one of the most selfless people I’ve ever met,” Shannon said. “She always thought of others and tried to help others whenever she could. She found the bright side of any situation.
“She met obstacles with grace and a smile. I try my best to channel her and emulate these qualities in my own life.”
The girls said their mother showed amazing strength during trying times, such as when her husband faced severe health problems and then when she confronted her own.
“She took care of my father for all those years,” Katie said. “She had cancer in 2003, and it was in remission for 13 years. The year after my father died, it came back.”
But, Katie added, Sue echoed Dory, the Pixar movie fish who never gave up, by saying, “You just keep swimming.”
Maury Wald said he and Over the Mountain Journal staff members will miss Sue as a friend, colleague and “voice of reason.”
“Over the last 32 plus years, it’s always been nice to hear someone say they like the Journal, and it’s been almost always followed by ‘I love “Murphy’s Law” – Susan Murphy is so talented and funny.’
“She was always at the top of her game, even when she was battling tough times, including the loss of her husband, Bill, and her toughest challenge of all – fighting cancer for the past six years.”
But if OTMJ readers treasured Sue’s column, Sue equally appreciated the opportunity to write it. Her daughters worried that it might be too much for her as she dealt with the effects of her illness.
“We’d ask her if she wanted to continue writing her column,” Katie said. “She’d say, ‘This is my connection to the land of the healthy people. It says, I still matter.’”
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