Joseph Bledsoe “Joe” Murphey

Listen to this obituary

Joseph Bledsoe Murphey, 82, aka “Brother Joe,” a loving husband, father, brother, uncle,

and friend, passed away in his sleep on August 28, 2022, at his home in Oxford,

Mississippi.

The funeral will be Thursday, September 1, 2022, at 2:00 P.M. in the Chapel of

Waller Funeral Home with Rev. Deb de Boer officiating. Visitation will be held prior

to the service beginning at 12:00 noon in West Hall at Waller Funeral Home.

Mr. Murphey was born to Eva Bledsoe Murphey and Smith Murphey on October 29,

1939 in Sumner, Mississippi. He was an Eagle Scout and was educated at the Webb

School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, and in 1962 received his bachelor’s degree in geology

from Washington & Lee University. He earned a master’s from the University of

Mississippi, where he met his best friend and love of his life, Becky. They married on

June 27, 1965 and moved to Lompoc, California, where he worked for the USDA

Agricultural Research Service. After a short tenure in Tucson, Arizona, he came home to

Mississippi, where he worked at the Soil Sedimentation Laboratory in Oxford as a

geologist until his retirement in 1997.

Joe will be remembered by loved ones and friends as a jokester who knew how to

brighten a day by making those around him laugh. As a perennial Eagle Scout, Joe was

known to lend a hand, quick to help with family members needing assistance. He built a

wheelchair ramp for his mother when she was ill, a large back porch for his mother-in-

law to enjoy her afternoons, and custom bookcases and headboards for his daughters’

and nephew’s dorm rooms long before it was fashionable to do so, among other

woodworking projects. He also used his Scouting skills to teach his children

(biological, fraternal and honorary) many useful skills, ranging from replacing

doorknobs, identifying native flora and fauna, checking the oil in your car, baiting a

hook, how to dance the Twist, and instructing them in the proper way to eat a crawfish.

An avid outdoorsman and historian, he enjoyed duck hunting and had an impressive

collection of mounted waterfowl. He also loved antique cars, and would happily talk

about his Volvo 544 or MG TC-3. He was a member of the Oxford and Lafayette

County Historical Society, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the Oxford Rotary Club,

the O.D. Smith #33 Masonic Lodge, and the Red Cross of Constantine. He was a member

of Kappa Sigma, serving as the alumni advisor for the Delta Xi chapter and was awarded

their national “H.E. Peery Alumni Advisor of the Year” award in 1995. He was a member

of First Presbyterian Church of Oxford.

Mr. Murphey is survived by his wife of 57 years, Rebecca “Becky” Rogers Murphey, of

Oxford; his two daughters, Missy Murphey of Orlando, Florida, and Beth (Drew)

Downey of Starkville; and a brother, Smith (Sylvia) Murphey IV of Sumner. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to

the College Hill Presbyterian Church Rebuilding Fund, Ducks Unlimited, 1 Waterfowl

Way, Memphis, TN 38120, or a charity of the donor’s choice.