James Woodyard Murphy, 94, of Little Hocking, OH (formerly lived in the Carolinas and Murphytown, WV), passed away October 23, 2026 at home. He was born on May 24, 1932 in Pennsboro, WV, a son of the late Donald Charles Murphy and Ruth Emrick Murphy Schoolcraft.
Jim graduated from Parkersburg High School in 1950, then later (in his 30’s) received a Bachelor of Regents degree from Glenville (WV) State College, then an LLD, Doctorate of Sacred Letters & Law from Clarksville (TN) School of Theology.
He was the founder, president, and co-owner of J.W. Murphy & Associates, Inc., a training and consulting company that worked all across the United States for 30 years. Prior to that, he worked at DuPont in Parkersburg for 30 years before moving to the Carolinas. While working at DuPont, he also was Pastor of Pine Grove Baptist Church for 10 years and was Associate Pastor at Fairlawn Baptist Church for 5 years. He was very active in church in various capacities wherever he lived, including traveling and organizing trips to Israel twenty times. He was a US Navy veteran and enjoyed gardening, farming, fixing/building things, traveling for pleasure (he’d been to 30+ countries and 30+ states, but he especially enjoyed going to the beach), writing columns/articles/autobiography, and studying human behavior. Most of all, he was very proud of his large and growing family!
Jim is survived by his wife of 40+ years, Lisa Godfrey Murphy, four children: Steve Murphy (Anita), Kevin Murphy (Vickie), Cheryl Litton (Bill), Robb Murphy (Laura), nine grandchildren Danny (Keisha), Brooke, Adam (Shanell), Bryan (Lori), Melissa (Jason), Sara, Kellie (Freddie), Brian (Jennifer), Kayla (Jimmy), fifteen great grandchildren, two great great grandsons, two sisters, Kay (Ed) Hendricks of Fox Lake, IL, Donna Frederick of Springfield, OH.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one granddaughter, Trisha Lynn Murphy; one sister, Joanna McGown; one brother, Michael George Murphy; and his first wife, Norma Jean Eschbacher Murphy.
Funeral services will be Friday, 11:00 am, October 30, 2026, at the Leavitt Funeral Home of Parkersburg, WV, with Pastor Brent Duncan officiating. For those unable to attend the service, it will be Livestreamed through Leavitt Funeral Home’s website on Jim’s obituary page.
Burial will follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Parkersburg, WV.
Visitation will be held Thursday 5-7 pm at the funeral home and one hour prior to the service.
The family would like to give a special thank you to private caregiver, Sherry, and the entire staff of Marietta (OH) Amedisys Hospice, especially Ashley and Mariah.
Donations can be made to Marietta Amedisys Hospice, your local hospice, Thermal Belt Outreach in Columbus, NC (where he served on the board for several years),or to the charity of your choice.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.LeavittFuneralHome.com
Follow