Sara J. Murphy

Sara was born on June 19, 1937, in Marinette, Wisconsin, to Clint and Haldora (Hagen) Dunathan. The family soon moved to Escanaba, where Clint, a newspaperman, joined the Daily Press as a reporter and later became its editor. Sara graduated from Escanaba High School, class of 1955, and went on to attend Michigan State University on a music scholarship. A gifted violinist from childhood, she sat first chair throughout high school and later returned to playing in adulthood with the Santa Maria Symphony in central California.

From an early age, Sara possessed a restlessness and curiosity about the world that would define her life. Finding East Lansing less expansive than she’d hoped, she headed south–an early sign of a wanderlust that never abated. Sara landed first in Mexico City, then Miami Beach. Soon after, the pull of larger horizons led her across the water to what would become her true second home: Cuba.

Sara lived and worked in Varadero for two years, managing a beachfront resort and falling deeply in love with the country and its people. Forced to leave following the Cuban Revolution in 1959, she would not return for more than forty years. She was able to visit three more times, most recently celebrating her 80th birthday in Varadero with her daughter–a memory she cherished deeply.

Back stateside, Sara settled in Chicago, where she built a fascinating professional life. She worked at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, for a high-society Michigan Avenue furrier, and as an auditor for a “Family”-owned motor lodge. She earned her degree in Accounting and Business Practices from La Salle Extension University and later worked in real estate, property management, and bookkeeping.

While working in a Magnificent Mile high-rise, Sara met a charismatic salesman and former Army pilot, named John “Jack” Murphy. The two were soon an item, and in August of 1968, they married on their lunch break at Chicago City Hall. Jack’s car-moving business took them across the country many times, and in 1973 they made their final journey westward, settling permanently in Los Angeles near Jack’s sister and mother. That same year, their daughter Maggie was born.

Following Jack’s death in 1979, Sara and Maggie remained in California. She and her “best pal” continued to travel whenever possible. Later, Sara found great joy in sharing her love of adventure with her grandchildren, particularly delighting in taking her first granddaughter on countless journeys. In retirement, Sara returned to Escanaba, ready to be home once again near family.

Sara was endlessly curious–about people, about the world, and about how things worked. She had the family knack for storytelling and loved to recount stories from her childhood, especially of summers spent with her beloved brother Arni at the family cottage in Fayette. She had an artist’s eye, a way with words, and an uncanny ability to make, fix, or reimagine nearly anything once she’d seen how it was done.

Sara was fiercely proud of her three granddaughters and delighted in spending time with them, hearing about their lives and accomplishments, and bragging on them to anyone who asked. Though proud of her Dunathan name, she was just as proud to answer, with a beaming smile, “Yes, I am,” when asked if she was “so-and-so’s grandma.”

Sara was preceded in death by her husband Jack, her parents, and her brother Arni. She is survived by her daughter, Maggie Murphy-Pomeroy of Escanaba; her granddaughters, Delanie Murphy of Montecito, California, Keeley Pomeroy of Marquette, and Nora Pomeroy of Escanaba; her niece, Dari (Mike) Cranford of Columbia, Missouri; and her nephew, Clint (Marcia) Dunathan of Escanaba.

In accordance with her wishes, no services will be held. Sara’s remains will be laid to rest beside her husband at the Los Angeles National Cemetery.