Blanche Louise Gray Murphy

Mrs. Blanche Louise “Julie” Gray Murphy, 88, of Lowgap, passed away Wednesday morning, June 28, 2023, at her home.  Mrs. Murphy was born January 2, 1935, in Beckley, WV, one of eleven children born to the late Lawrence and Mary Leona Smith Gray.  Julie was a homemaker and a member of Roaring Gap Baptist Church.  She is survived by a daughter and son-in-law, Linda and Efrain “Frank” Barrera; a son, Robert Murphy; three grandchildren, Jennifer Barneycastle, Dale Roberts, and Tommy Coleman; six great-grandchildren; eight great-great-grandchildren; a sister, Thelma Roberts; a brother and sister-in-law, Roy and Frances Gray; and several nieces and nephews.  In addition to her parents, Mrs. Murphy was preceded in death by her husband, Carl Elbert Murphy; four sisters, Mary Richey, Ethel Daughenbaugh, Catherine “Pete” Lawrence, and Dorothy “Dot” Murphy; and four brothers, Zack Royce Gray, Charlie Gray, William Eugene “Preach” Gray, and William Everette Gray.  The funeral service will be held Sunday, July 2, 2023, at 2:00 PM at Moody Funeral Home Chapel in Mount Airy, with the Rev. Ewell Vernon officiating.  Burial will follow in the Roaring Gap Baptist Church Cemetery.  The family will receive friends Sunday from 12:30 until 2:00 PM at the funeral home.