William F. Murphy, Ventresca Bros. retiree
William F. “Bill” Murphy, 84, of Rehoboth Beach, formerly of Hockessin, passed away Monday, June 27, 2022.
Bill was born Jan. 7, 1937, in Riverside, Conn., to the late James and Catherine (Dolan) “Kitty” Murphy. He was the second son of their six children. He attended Greenwich High School, where he played football on their undefeated 1953 team but dropped out prior to graduation to help support the family following the early passing of his father.
He joined the Marines in 1954, serving in the Fifth Battalion in Platoon 333 engineering company and was honorably discharged in 1956. After the Marines, he attended the JM Wright Technical School and was trained as a carpenter. He played semi-pro football for the Stamford Golden Bears, prior to marrying and having three children. He started his own construction company in Stamford, Conn., in the 1960s. After moving to Lancaster, Pa., in 1972, he began remodeling several small farms in southeastern Pennsylvania for his family, which led to tons of family fun with numerous farm animals and farm tractors.
Bill was a retired construction superintendent and had worked for Ventresca Bros. Inc. in Wilmington for over 30 years. During this time, he supervised the building of untold custom homes and several firehouses, and remodeled various schools among a multitude of other construction projects.
“Uncle Bill’s” favorite things included visiting with his three grandchildren: Colin Murphy of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Brianna Murphy and Riley Murphy of Millsboro. He thoroughly cherished his multiple February trips to Key West, Fla., and was an avid Philadelphia Eagles and Notre Dame football fan, who loved his pickup trucks.
He is survived by his three children: Katherine S. Murphy of Kingston, Wash., William F. Murphy Jr. and wife Patricia of Groton Long Point, Conn., and Daniel M. Murphy and wife Robin of Millsboro; his brothers John Murphy of Santa Fe, N.M., Daniel Murphy of Savannah, Ga.; and the mother of his children, Mary-Virginia Woolven of Naples, Fla. He was preceded in death by his siblings James Murphy of Stamford, Conn., Louise Pflumn of Lancaster, Pa., and Ann Conti of Groton Long Point.
Bill had also resided in the following towns: Cos Cob, Conn., Washington Boro, Pa., New London, Pa., Virginia Beach, Va., and Columbus, Ohio.
Interment will be held privately Thursday, July 14, at Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Millsboro. In addition, there will be a Celebration of Life for Bill in Groton Long Point, Conn., in June 2023.
Online condolences may be made by visiting melsonfuneralservices.com.
