Dennis Conley Murphy

Dennis Conley Murphy

aka Denny, “Murph”, Dennysan

Born September 16, 1937—departed this life July 30,

2009. Dennis lived his formative years in Newport Beach,

CA where he nourished his love for all things nautical.

While a member of the California Air National Guard, he

developed an abiding interest in aviation – his passion.

Murphy was ‘larger than life’ with a life lived to the fullest.

He was outrageous,

irreverent, and ornery; funny, talented and generous; and a

practicing perfectionist. Murphy was a yacht builder, boat

surveyor, high-flying jack-of-all-trades and master of all. He

was creative and innovative, often saying that the mark of

a true craftsman was the ability to fix his mistakes. If there

wasn’t a tool to do the job, he’d invent a new one.

Above all he was a pilot. A Flyer. An Aviator. For him

flying was like breathing—

the single thing he enjoyed the most and to him it was

as necessary to his life as the air around us. He worked to

survive but he flew to live.

He was a citizen of the world residing for almost 30 years

in Asia—Viet Nam, Laos, the Philippines, Hong Kong

and Japan before moving to Hawaii. Wherever he went,

he made new friends and invariably ran into old ones. He

never forgot a name, or a face. His stories were legendary

and hilarious and true. We can only ponder the book he

could have written!

For the past 11 years he lent his talents and imagination to

the Battleship Missouri Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

His accomplishments are to be seen throughout the ship

and he will never be replaced either on the ship or in the

hearts of those who knew him and worked with him.

He leaves behind fellow pilots, numerous friends, girl

friends and grieving shipmates, an assortment of aircraft

and one Iowa Class battleship.

A memorial service will be held on the decks of the USS

Missouri on Saturday August 22 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.

Shuttle service will be provided from the Bowfin Museum.

Friends of Dennis are desirous of contacting any living

relatives. If you have information, which would be of

assistance or would like to express sentiments to be shared

at his memorial service, please email rememberingmurph@

gmail.com. Memorial donations to the USS Missouri

Memorial Association https://www.ussmissouri.com/joinin-

support or Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino https://

www.planesoffame.org/ are welcome.