Carol Lynn Murphy

At 4 years of age, Barbara, Carol’s mother, married Robert Jones and later had a daughter, Carol’s sister, Stephanie Jones.

Carol grew up in Dorris, California. As a youth, Carol enjoyed many activities. She enjoyed playing cards, especially the game Canasta, with her Grandma Jo, and ice skating on ponds outside of Dorris and at Tule Lake.

Carol loved family campouts. She enjoyed camping at Medicine Lake, rowing boats on the lake, getting lost, and making everyone worry about her. In addition, Carol did cattle round-ups and played the saxophone in the Klamath Basin Band. She would find herself attending all the activities in the small town of Dorris. Her favorite community activity was dancing. She danced at school activities, the city hall, and the Big Red Barn outside of Dorris. The Big Red Barn was the happening place on Saturday nights where other communities would gather with hers and dance. Carol had a thing for the boys. If there was an activity that had boys involved, that’s where you would find her.

Carol attended high school in Dorris and graduated in the Class of 1956, however, she finished high school early in 1955. During a high school Halloween dance involving other schools from the surrounding area, Carol met a young man from Happy Camp named Thomas Payne. The two of them got acquainted, found time to hang out in the spring during track season, and began writing letters to each other. In 1955, when Carol was 16, she married Thomas Payne in Klamath Falls, Oregon. They moved to Anchorage, Alaska, while Thomas was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base. While in Alaska, Carol gave birth to their first child, Michael Payne in 1956. They later had another child together, Deborah Payne, who was born in 1959 in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

In May 1960, Carol married Charles O’Bryan in Reno, Nevada. They had their first and only child together, David O’Bryan. David was born in 1961, in Sacramento, California. In 1963, Charles and Carol were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. From then on, Carol served in many different capacities in the church.

In May 1969, Carol married Robert Nelson in Reno, Nevada. They had their first and only child together, Lisa Nelson. Lisa was born in 1970, in Sacramento, California.

God blessed Carol with four beautiful children. As a mother she enjoyed holding her babies, teaching them new things, and watching them develop.

Carol worked at various military bases such as Elmendorf Air Force Base, Aerojet, McClellan Air Force Base, Travis Air Force Base, and Rio Vista Army Storage. She enjoyed working at the bases because she was able to be involved in ordering parts and repairing various products such as electrical equipment, amphibious assault vehicles (AAV), and A-10 Warthog jet planes. She worked hard and kept good records. She constantly received good ratings as an employee. Carol's favorite activity was when the whole family would get together for the holidays such as Christmas and the 4th of July. She delighted in the little things like watching the kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids play, run, skate, and swim. Carol loved having one-on-one conversations with her family members. Those were tender mercies that she loved.

In September 1990, Lisa introduced Carol to Jim Murphy, a veteran U.S. Marine, retired NYPD, and father of four lovely daughters. They dated for a while and then were married in 1991. Carol enjoyed being a member of the Murphy family. She loved all of her family immensely.

After Jim’s passing in 2014, Lisa moved in to support Carol. On Friday, November 8, 2024, Carol peacefully passed away at home. She returned home to her Heavenly Father and her loved ones that passed before.