Fayne Chupack Murphy
Dec. 10, 1936-Nov. 9, 2023
Menlo Park, California
Submitted by Fred V. Murphy
Fayne Chupack Murphy succumbed to age and kidney failure at home in Menlo Park, as she had wished, on November 8, 2023. She was born December 10, 1936 to Steve Chupack and Julia Kozemko Chupack of Lopez and Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
She leaves her husband of 58 years, Fred; her elder son Fred S. Murphy of Mountain View, and his companion Donna Gullo; her younger son Matthew B. Murphy of Oneonta, New York, Matthew’s wife Jennifer Hill, their daughter (and her grand-daughter) Alexandra Fayne Murphy; Jennifer’s parents and our good friends Ken and Yvonne Hill of Winchester, VA; her brother Stephen F. Chupack and his wife Jeanette of Punta Gorda, Florida and their son Stephen T. Chupack of Burlington, Vermont; her Baltimore connections including John C. Murphy and his wife Frances Lewis, their daughters Mary-Elizabeth and Maggie, Paula Murphy and her daughter Julia, Virginia Kirk; her dear cousins Joyce Piasecki and Andrea Wells; our old friends Terence Bailey and Kathryn Puffett; and many other friends, in-laws, cousins and nieces.
Fayne spent her first decade in Lopez, then moved to Williamsport with her family and attended the excellent public schools. The formative experience of her younger years was Marywood College in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where she majored in Psychology, eventually obtaining an MS and certification in Educational Psychology under her mentor, Sister M. Bernardina McAndrew, IHM. After a few years in the Office of Testing and Guidance at American University in Washington, D.C., she returned to teach and practice in the Psychoeducational Clinic at Marywood.
Fayne and Fred married in 1965 and, after two years in Princeton, moved to Menlo Park. Here she volunteered many hours at the Stanford Hospital Gift Shop, the Community Association for the Retarded, and our local public library and schools. She treasured her close relationship with her mother, who followed her to this neighborhood, and her loving friendships with other volunteers, neighbors (especially the Beckstrom, Sciarini, and Simonian families), former classmates, and visitors. All knew she would welcome them warmly and generously into our home. She was most proud of our two sons. Fayne was a life-long Catholic, recently estranged from the institutional Church by its rejection of the special gifts and leadership potential of women.
Her struggles with various ailments were supported by Drs. Martin Bronk, Eileen Byrne, and Luis Alvarez, and by the sensitive staff and caregivers of PAMF, SUMC, Sutter Hospice, and TheKey.
Burial of her ashes will be private; memorial donations can be made to NOW, ACLU, or any group that supports constructive feminism.
“Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale / Her infinite variety”
Tags: teacher/educator, public service
