Grainger Lewis Murphy

Grainger Lewis Murphy was one of fourteen children born to the late Grainger Murphy and Etta Wiley Murphy of Pink Hill, North Carolina, on July 25, 1941.

Lewis attended Pink Hill School, graduating with the Class of 1959. He served in the United States Army from 1966 to 1968, stationed in Germany. Upon his return, he married Ellen Quinn Murphy, and they just recently celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary. They built a family that Lewis took great joy in. By trade, he was a farmer, a carpenter, and a welder, though his skills were too many to count. He loved dressing barbecue pigs for his neighbors and, even more, cooking barbecue. His servant’s heart was apparent many times, particularly in his church service—first at Turner’s Chapel as Treasurer, leading Royal Rangers, and mowing the grass every Saturday for many years. Later, he was a founding member and deacon at Believers Fellowship in Comfort, NC. Most recently, Lewis helped build their new fellowship hall. He served others in quiet, unseen ways, truly living out the scripture Matthew 6:1-8 in deeds and prayer. He and Ellen were foster parents for a season.

Lewis was well-known for planting large gardens and freely sharing the produce. At his core, he believed we are called to pray and care for one another, and he spent his life demonstrating this.

Lewis was preceded in death by his beloved son, Kory Paul Murphy, and siblings: Ruby Hardison, Lena Lee, Louvene Whaley, Estelle Dail, Pauline Alphin, Horace Murphy, Myrtle Howard, Roy Murphy, and Curtis Murphy.

He is remembered as a simple, honest man who loved God, his family, and farming—just as his name suggests. Of all the things he cultivated, he considered his family his greatest accomplishment. He loved deeply and left to cherish his memory: his wife, Ellen; his sons, Robbie (wife Kim) and Dusty (wife Brandi); his grandchildren, Tyler Murphy (wife Stephanie) and Brianna Daugherty (husband Daniel), and River, Ridge, and Ren Murphy; and his siblings, Donald Murphy, Evelyn Hall, and Virgil Murphy. Lewis was delighted to know his first great-grandchild will arrive in July.

The family cherishes the many memories and testaments of Lewis’s character shared with them in recent days; each has been a blessing and a comfort.

Lewis strained every drop of life from his 83 years. Many times, he said he wanted to work right up to his last day, and he did just that. He spent Saturday plowing the ground and planting potatoes. On Sunday morning, Lewis did not wake up. He passed peacefully around sunset on Sunday, in the company of family and loved ones. His family is sure he was up at the crack of dawn in Heaven, ready to get to work for Jesus, with Kory by his side.

Funeral services honoring this remarkable man will be held at Pink Hill Funeral Home at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 13. Visitation will follow. Burial and a graveside service will be held on Friday, February 14, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at Kory Murphy Cemetery, 2571 West Pleasant Hill Road, Pink Hill, North Carolina.

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