Terry passed away at the Yass hospital on August 28, 2018 aged 69 years.
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He is survived by his wife Kathleen (Kitty), two sons Quentin and Daniel and two daughters Laurenia and Errin.
Two grandchildren Skye and Mick.
Terry is the third son of the late Viv and Edna Murphy.
He was born on April 7, 1949 at the Boorowa Hospital.
Terry had a happy childhood playing with his siblings Barry and I (Judy) on grandma’s farm on the Taylor’s Flat Road.
We also had great times with all our cousins when they visited grandma on the farm.
Terry was much loved by his Aunty Millie and Uncle Dick Harris.
Aunty Millie lost three babies due to being a diabetic.
They would take Terry (nephew) and Clorine (niece) with them on their annual holidays.
He received excellent care and was provided with the best toys, clothing, meals, lollies, and money.
Terry spent many school holidays with his Aunty Millie and Uncle Dick on their property at Rugby.
Terry had a fall off a horse.
He was showing Uncle Pearce Murphy how he could ride when the girth broke the fall knocked him unconscious.
The ambulance was called and took Terry to the Boorowa Hospital.
The nurses and staff was taken with Terry’s really good looks, fair complexion, blue eyes, dimples when he smiled and thick curly blond hair.
When he recovered and returned home, his neck was covered in love bites.
Terry liked to eat the green fruit off the fruit trees, he must have had a cast-iron stomach.
Terry and I (Judy) would catch mud juggins on a log across Hovell’s Creek with a bent pin fishing line with worms.
We would take them home and fry them in our mum’s homemade butter.
Terry’s dad was a bee farmer as well.
He was working with the bee hives and the bees flew out and stung Terry all over his head and body.
He swelled up to twice his size.
He survived that to go on to eat all the buttons out of grandma corker’s sewing machine draws.
He was passing buttons for days.
Terry went to school at St Joseph’s Catholic School in Boorowa.
He left school at age 14 and went to work with his dad on his grandma’s property.
Terry learnt to operate the bulldozer, front loader and all the other machinery.
He learnt to weld, look after the sheep and cattle and the dogs.
Terry learnt to shear at a very young age and went with his dad shearing all around the district.
He then went shearing all around the outback of NSW with the contractors to the big sheds.
Terry had a very good sense of direction, he could find his way to any property without even using a road map.
He even took a very small, electric washing machine with him in the boot of his car so he could do his washing on the weekends.
They would be at some of the sheds for six to eight weeks
Terry was very lonely and grieving for his dad when he passed away on May 24, 1978.
He met with a school friend, Kathleen Bush, and they married on January 20, 1979.
I was so happy for Terry.
Terry and Kitty built their first home in Yass as owner builders, a big achievement for Terry, as he could barely read or write.
Terry was such a great gardener.
He had a huge vegetable patch with rows and rows of fresh organic vegetables which was enough for his family and all his friends.
Gardening was another skill he learnt from his dad.
Terry was a very good mechanic.
He often helped Bob Davis at his Garage in Boorowa when he wasn’t away shearing.
He could fix anything from small motors to big motors, it was a good skill to have.
He was such a handy man.
Terry loved to go fishing with all of his mates at Yass.
He did a lot of freshwater fishing and knew all the good spots to find fish.
He always came home with three or four big ones.
Terry was a very placid and caring man to everyone, he was always willing to help others and would never take advantage of anyone.
He was a very humble kind of gentleman always so polite.
He would go to the in-laws at their property at Rye Park for a visit.
Thelma Bush would cook the dinner and Terry would always compliment her on such a beautiful meal.
Thelma was taken by this as no one praised her for her cooking, she had a big family and that was her duty to feed them all.
Terry liked to go to the pub for a beer and a yarn and come home late.
Kitty would keep his dinner in the oven for him and he would eat his meal and tell her how much he really enjoyed it.
Kitty would tell everyone that the children got their good looks from their dad, and if she had her time over again, that she would marry Terry again.
Quentin, Terry’s eldest son, was wonderful to his dad and visited him three times a week whilst so sick in the nursing home, bringing him soft drinks and little treats.
He was a good Catholic. He took Kitty and the children to Mass every Sunday morning with the four little kids all dressed beautifully.
Terry had a stroke in April 2017.
He was paralysed all down his left side he wasn’t expected to live.
He beat all odds and lived on for 16 months.
He passed away at the Yass Hospital on August 28.
He was down to 40kg, aged 69, same age as his mum when she passed away.
Requiem Mass was held for Terry at St Patrick’s Catholic Church Boorowa on September 6, 2018.
Due to the funeral directors speakers not working in the church at Terry’s funeral, very few people heard Terry’s sister Judy deliver the Eulogy.
This is a copy of Judy’s Obituary for so many have been requesting a copy.
Terry was buried next to his dad Viv Murphy in the Catholic cemetery at Frogmore as that was his request.
I know you are in God's hands now.
Until we meet again.
I will always keep you in my heart. I love you.
Written by Judy Murphy