Kevin G. Murphy, who started in the mailroom of the Suffolk County courts as a Chelsea High School graduate and ended his career as Clerk Magistrate, and who lived his whole life in Chelsea, died on September 14, 2026 after a long illness with chronic kidney disease. He was 83.
He was born in Chelsea on May 20, 1943, one of nine children of Andrew P. and Anna T. (Callahan) Murphy. He went to St. Rose School and graduated from Chelsea High in 1961, and went to work for the courts the same year. He spent 65 years in the Suffolk County court system, serving as assistant clerk of Suffolk Superior Court from 1974 to 1994 and then as Clerk Magistrate, a post his family says he held by appointment of Governor William Weld.
He married Virginia M. (Dennehy) Murphy on September 24, 1966; they would have marked 60 years together this week. They raised three sons in the Prattville neighborhood and were parishioners of Our Lady of Grace. He belonged to the Cary Square Associates and the Chelsea Yacht Club, and boating was the passion of his summers, most of them spent at the family’s place on Murphy Lane in Tilton, New Hampshire, on Lake Winnisquam.
His death was noted from the stage two nights later at the city’s “Chelsea Then and Now” event, where the former chief of staff to the state receiver called him a pillar of the community.
He is survived by his wife, Virginia; his sons and their wives, Kevin G. Murphy Jr. and Joanne of Malden, Daniel F. Murphy and Nicole of Saugus, and Paul R. Murphy and Erin of Chelsea; six grandchildren, Brendan, Daniel Jr., Ava, Kylah, Mason and Brielle; and many nieces and nephews. He was the last of his generation, predeceased by his brothers Andrew J., Edward and Brendan and his sisters Eileen Mullaney, Patricia Doherty, Kathleen Paris, Barbara Parow and Sheila Zecha.
Visiting hours are Monday, September 21 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Welsh Funeral Home, 718 Broadway, Chelsea. The funeral leaves the funeral home Tuesday, September 22 at 10 a.m. for an 11 a.m. Mass at Our Lady of Grace Church, 59 Nichols Street.
Compiled from information published by Welsh Funeral Home, 718 Broadway, Chelsea, (617) 889-2723. Photograph courtesy of the family via Welsh Funeral Home. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.