Barbara Ellen Murphy (nee Brents), 83, of Middletown and Ocean Township, passed away Tuesday, May 3rd after a short illness, at her daughter’s home in Atlantic Highlands. However, Alzheimer’s Disease had taken her from her family several years earlier. Barbara resided in Middletown until the passing of her husband on April 13, 2001, and moved to Ocean Township.
The daughter of the late Ernest and Mary Ellen (nee Rogan) Brents, Barbara was born January 13, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York. Barbara attended Saint Edmund Preparatory High School, and Prospect Heights High School, in Brooklyn. Barbara met her husband of 38 years John “Jack” Murphy in Brooklyn and together they raised five children. She was a homemaker and then worked as a secretary at AT&T, retiring in 2000.
Barbara enjoyed frequent family get-togethers that were filled with storytelling and laughter. She loved playing board games with her family, Broadway and Hollywood musicals, and her favorite Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas. Barbara stayed busy with crossword puzzles, card games and bingo.
Barbara is survived by her daughter Mary Pat and son-in-law Michael Gendelman and grandchildren Connor, Sophie and Emily; daughter Carolyn and son-in-law John Diefenbach; son John and daughter-in-law Patty, and grandchildren Katie and Wyatt; son Andrew and significant other Adrienne Rogers, and grandchildren Ryan and Riley; and son Robert and daughter-in-law Caryn; her brother Quinton “Jim” Brents; and sister Alice (nee Brents) and brother-in-law Roger Marhefka.
Visitation will be held Sunday, May 8, from 2 pm – 5 pm, at John F. Pfleger Funeral Home, 115 Tindall Road, Middletown, NJ. A funeral Liturgy will be offered on Monday, May 9 at 10 am at St. Agnes RC Church 103 Center Avenue, Atlantic Highlands, NJ. Entombment will follow at Holmdel Cemetery in Holmdel, NJ. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund to support research in finding a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease.