Bert Charles Christophe Murphy

Bert Charles Christophe Murphy was born in Joliet, Illinois, on March 17, 1948. He was 69 years old. In 1997 Bert was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. With his loved ones by his side, holding his hands until his last breath, Bert peacefully passed away on the morning of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, January 15, 2018, after suffering complications from the flu and pneumonia.

He graduated in 1966 from Joliet Township High School East Campus, and in 1971 earned his B.S. degree in industrial management from Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. He was a member of the fraternity Phi Sigma Kappa.

As an employee of Commonwealth Edison Co., he served as a liaison between real estate developers and the electric company for new service. He traveled internationally for several years, backpacking through Europe, North Africa, and South America. He then worked as an independent real estate investor in California since 1976. He owned 30 separate properties, both rural and urban, up to 20 at the same time.

His hobbies and interests were incredibly diverse: flying airplanes, mathematics, inventing and engineering projects, tennis, skiing, magic tricks, health and wellness, meeting new friends, studying vocabulary, dancing, and networking.

Bert was preceded in death by his father, Ralph C. Murphy, his mother, Dorothy Virginia Lentz, and older brother Dan. He is survived by younger sister, Christine Kuchinski, and her daughters, Kelly, Kasey, and Kayla, and her grandchildren, Adelyn, Matisse, Maxime; youngest sister Claire Wilson and her son, Gregory, and her grandchild Connor; his biological daughter, Megan Broadkey, and her son, Asher. He is also survived by his cousins, Nancy Lyon, and her children, Pamela Tafoya and Brad Lyon; Bunny Day and her children, Tom, Bob, and Cathryn; Harriet Murphy; and David Murphy.

Bert will be laid to rest at Mountain Cemetery in Sonoma. His family and friends will miss him dearly, cherish his memory, and feel the peace that Bert is free at last. Thank the Lord, he is free at last.

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