Obituary of Peter Kern Murphy

Murphy, Peter Kern, 85, of Lloyd Harbor, passed away on October 1^st, 2024. Beloved husband of 59 years to Ginger. Loving father of John Michael (Lisa), Mary Grever (Michael), and Mark. Adoring grandfather of Sean, Kern, Shay, Michaela, Brianna, Thorlak, and Taea. Dear brother of Eileen Grace, brother-in-law of Cynthia Murphy (Charlie), Suzanne Saletta (Jack) and Richard Shay (Joanne). 

Murphy was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Mount Sinai and attended Port Jefferson High School and won accolades as an all-county football player. He attended Notre Dame University when it was still all-male, studied mechanical engineering and graduated in 1961. He entered into the overhead hoisting business as a sales engineer with Ingersoll-Rand. Eight years later he founded his own company, Spantec Systems, a distributor of industrial monorails, hoists and cranes in 1969. He met his wife Ginger, a native of the south side of Chicago, during their time in college, while she was enrolled at St Mary’s, a Catholic women’s college near Notre Dame. They reconnected five years later. Murphy invited Ginger to visit him on Long Island for Independence Day weekend, before she embarked on a trip to Europe with friends. Six months later they were married. They were together 59 years. He was honored by the Notre Dame Club of Long Island as Person of the Year in 2004. He played banjo in the Bob Morris Irish Band and helped bring musicians from Ireland to the US through Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Association of Musicians Of Ireland). The values learned at Notre Dame resonated with Peter and his family. He was quoted in the Long Islander stating, “It was a motivator and it taught me the value of principles.” “I try to keep that in front of me and keep that as my guide as to what’s right, whether it’s in business or socially.”

Visitation will be held this Sunday 2-4 & 7-9 PM, at M.A. Connell Funeral Home, 934 New York Ave., Huntington Station. Funeral Mass will be held this Monday, 9:45 AM, at St. Patrick’s Church, Huntington. Interment to follow at St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Huntington.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Peter’s name may be made to: the NY Foundling (where John Michael was adopted) -

https://www.nyfoundling.org/donate-online/  and/or

the Alzheimer's Foundation of America -  https://apps.alzfdn.org/memorialfundraising?PFR=242