Patricia Duffy Murphy was always an elegant presence, beautifully turned out whether in a formal gown at Madison Square Garden for the National Horse Show; riding her favorite horse, Sean, with the Spring Valley Hounds, or while welcoming guests to her home at Spook Hollow Farm in Bedminster, which traditionally has hosted the Essex Fox Hounds’ opening meet each season for 40 years.
But more important, she was a warm person with a quick smile, who made sure you knew she was glad to see you. That’s how we’ll remember Patricia, who died Wednesday at age 89, surrounded by her family, the focus of her life.
Patricia Murphy with her daughter, Karen, in 2012 at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation. (Photo © 2012 by Nancy Jaffer)
Patricia, the widow of U.S. Equestrian Team President Vincent B. Murphy Jr., was always there for her six children: Vince Jr., Patricia Stuebe; Michaela (Mikey) Hoag, a former grand prix show jumper; Dan, Karen, who is the joint master of the Essex Fox Hounds, and Kevin, who died in 2013.
Born in Germantown, Pa., Patricia graduated from the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Eden Hall and attended Pratt Institute in New York City. Patricia was one of the first women invested with the American Sovereign Military Order of Malta. She was also a long-time supporter of the Summit Speech School and the Midland School.
She was known for her devout faith, kindness and high moral standards. Oma, as she was affectionately called by her 20 grandchildren and Grand Oma by her 11 great-grandchildren, was the glue that kept the Murphy family together. Every child and grandchild spent holidays at the farm, where they felt her love, warmth and support. Family was paramount in her eyes and she instilled that deeply across the generations.
Like her late husband, Pat suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, which inspired Mikey to become involved in raising funds for research into this devastating condition. She started an organization called Part the Cloud, which works with the Alzheimer’s association, raising money for early stage human trials to find a drug that can slow, stop or ultimately cure Alzheimer’s.
The organization has had 39 trials around the world, with applications from 29 countries. The idea is to get a drug on the market as fast as possible, Mikey said. It took seven years to raise $30 million, which includes a $10 million donation from Bill Gates. She hopes that by April, another $30 million will be raised.
Mikey has staged Silicon Valley fund raisers every other year featuring celebrities performing pro bono, including Tony Bennett, Jimmy Buffet, Chris Isaac and Idina Menzel.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that gifts be made to Part the Cloud at alz.org/partthecloud or the Countryside Alliance of the Somerset Hills (https://greatnonprofits.org/org/countryside-alliance-of-the-somerset-hills).