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Sister Mary Alice Murphy shaped future for Fort Collins' less fortunate
Written by Kelley King
Fort Collins Coloradoan
coloradoan.com
When Sister Mary Alice Murphy talks about the decision to step away from her hectic day-to-day schedule, the near octogenarian laughs.
"Don't you think that at this stage, being 80 is enough of a reason," Murphy said this week. "I mean, how many people can retire at 80 years old?"
On Aug. 7, Murphy's birthday, the longtime community advocate will do just that, moving on from decades of daily work helping the less fortunate in a city she has called home since the early 1980s, when Fort Collins was half its current size and prominent leaders refused to acknowledge issues of poverty within its boundaries.
"Nobody seems to believe me when I say I'm retiring," Murphy said. "I've gone from
working full time to part time and trying to cut back, but people still see me working. Hopefully, this time, I can realize that goal of real retirement."
A life of service
The daughter of Clement and Julia Murphy, Sister Mary Alice Murphy was born in 1931 and grew up in a family of five children in Moncton, New Brunswick Canada. Named after her grandmothers, the Catholic sister still prefers to be called by both names, saying, "If you're named after two grandmothers, you don't leave one of them out. That wouldn't have gone over well."
When she was about 7 years old, Murphy said she realized she wanted to devote her life to helping others. Having grown up attending St. Bernard's Roman Catholic Church, she remembers donning a habit to participate in a processional and knowing what lay ahead.
"I think putting on that habit sealed it for me," she said. "That, and I was in a Catholic school taught by sisters."
At 17 years old, Murphy left her Canadian home and way of life and settled at Victory Noll in Huntington, Ind., where she dedicated herself to her faith and the future. The transition was hard for a young woman in a different country away from family and friends.
"It was quite restrictive and difficult, but I knew that going in," Murphy said. "We didn't get to go home for three years and only again after five years. It would be hard to describe what it was like because it is so foreign in today's world.
"It was a true challenge. Not only did I give up life in my own country, but I just turned 17 and didn't have any contact with family but a visit a year from my folks."
Eventually, Murphy was ready to move on and minister to people across the country, landing for three years in Brawley, Calif., and one year in Redlands, Calif. From there, she worked with people in Washington Court House, Ohio; Kendallville, Ind.; and, Detroit.
While in Michigan, Murphy attended Siena Heights College and in 1960 earned her bachelor's degree in social work. After stints in Texas and time spent again in Huntington, Ind., Murphy landed in Denver, where she earned her masters degree in social work from the University of Denver and spent 10 years working for Catholic Charities.
"Of all the places, I think Texas was probably the hardest to leave," she said. "Most of the places I've been have had a strong commitment to Hispanic people and there I got into adult education. I really liked working with the people."
In the 'Choice City'
In 1983, Fort Collins boasted 80,000 residents, and there was an undercurrent of concern for people facing poverty.
Murphy arrived in the city as the board of directors for Catholic Community Services in Northern Colorado, now Catholic Charities Northern, analyzed an increasing demand for food by people in the community. As the third executive director of the group, she set out to address the issue and find solutions.
"The issue of homelessness has been discussed almost since the time I arrived in the city, but at that point and time, the chief of police told one of our board members that there were no poor people here," Murphy said.
Such notions were not uncommon at that time, Murphy said.
"Fort Collins was called the 'Choice City' and people wanted that reputation to catch on and continue here," she said. "As in most communities, there is a soft underbelly of people who are poor. In Fort Collins, though, you can go through the city and not see a lot of physical poverty. Although you don't see it, it doesn't mean it isn't there."
To address the situation, Catholic Charities conducted a survey on community need, and in July 1983 opened a soup kitchen.
Since that time, Murphy has been involved with multiple outreach programs including CARE Housing, the Hand-Up Cooperative, Homelessness Prevention Initiative and Homeward 2020.
In March 2009, the Sister Mary Alice Murphy Center for Hope opened at 242 Conifer St. The facility is a collaborative center aimed at helping the homeless and near-homeless in Northern Colorado. It also bears Murphy's name, something the modest woman initially found daunting.
"At first, I was leery about that because I didn't know how it would be run and operated," Murphy said. "But now, I'm so proud of the way the center treats people, and I'm really proud to have my name on a place where the poor are treated with dignity."
For Randy Ratliff, chief executive officer for the Larimer Center for Mental Health, the managing agency for the Center for Hope, having Murphy associated with the facility is an important part of fulfilling its mission.
"She is viewed as a champion for people from the underserved to the homeless," Ratliff said. "She is very dedicated to people in need, and that is something we, as the managing agency, strive to honor."
Murphy's tenacity when it comes to helping others is a trait often noted when people talk about her.
"She's not bashful," Ratliff said. "She's very willing to think and talk about what needs to be done and bring people together to serve the community."
Praise for Murphy can be heard throughout Fort Collins after her years of dedication to helping people and seeking solutions to some of society's most troubling issues.
"Where ever I look where there are issues related to people who are homeless or destitute, her (Murphy's) fingerprints are all over the services being provided to them," said Gordan Thibedeau, president/CEO of the United Way of Larimer County. "She has made a huge difference to people in the community who are struggling."
A legacy of caring is something residents have long associated with Murphy and as her retirement nears, it is especially apt, Thibedeau said.
"She has been a community conscience, saying it's not good enough to let people suffer," Thibedeau said. "She has always been the one who would gently say, 'You know, we have to do something.'"
Whether encouraging people to take action or wondering aloud what solutions can be found, Murphy has found ways to enhance people's lives for years, said Daniel Covey, director of the Hand-Up Cooperative, a program to help homeless people find jobs.
"She has a very strong track record of asking tough questions and making sure we are being aware of how our actions are impacting everyone in the community," Covey said. "I think her legacy will live on after her retirement. She has done a fantastic job of teaching and sharing her skills with a large number of people."
Stepping away
As retirement looms, Murphy said she has some simple plans on the horizon, such as attending concerts in the community, reading good books and seeing movies.
She has hopes of once again picking up knitting and spending time with her newly adopted dog, Mollie.
"The problem with being a sister is not getting much money," she said. "So, I'll probably do some traveling and little things. What I'm really looking forward to is having time to myself for prayer and reflection, doing everyday things rather than sandwiching them into one day."
And, as Murphy sets her sights on a new chapter in life, she also looks back fondly on what she has helped achieve in the Choice City.
"What I'm most proud of is the wonderful people that I've been able to work with, the young, the elderly, the educated, the not-so educated, you name it," she said. "My hope and prayer is that those people will continue the work we've started."
Reporter Jennifer Hefty contributed to this story.
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