By Laurel Droz

Goodrich-When Donna Murphy, died on Jan. 5, at Genesys Hospice Care Center, a void was left in the community.
She was 74.
‘She was one of a kind’literally. She was a mainstay of Goodrich, ? said Nancy Dugas of Goodrich, echoing the words of many who knew Murphy.
‘She had a heart of gold but she didn’t take anything off of anybody,? said Dugas, a friend of Murphy’s for more than 40 years.
‘Her stamina just amazed me,? Dugas said. ‘She was just a unique woman and the battle that she fought with breast cancer amazed me.?
‘She was a great person,? son Mike Murphy, of Burton said.
‘She always put us kids first,? daughter Debbie Nothhelfer of Goodrich said.
Nothhelfer remembers her mother as someone never afraid to speak her mind.
‘My mother always had something to say. There were times when I thought ‘Oh mom, please don’t…? Nothhelfer laughed. ‘That drive and that spirit is what got her through the last three years.?
‘One thing about Donna is you always did know exactly where she stood on any given subject. She was ? ‘feisty? is I think the word for it,? friend Marcia Rockafellow, of Goodrich, recalled with a laugh.
Nothhelfer remembered the days when her father, Lloyd Raymond Murphy, who died in 1994, was the police chief in Goodrich and her mother helped out by acting as a one-woman dispatch.
‘When my father was police chief, for as long as I can remember our telephone was the police phone,? Nothhelfer said.
‘I remember her dispatching the police,? said Lions Club member Emery Bennett of Goodrich. ?(Her husband), he was the police department…the one and only. They immediately needed to have a dispatch so she did the dispatch out of the house.?
‘Having the dispatch in her home for as many years as she did’she spent a lot of years just giving to the community,? Rockafellow said. ‘It was an unusual thing to have but she did it very well.?
Another thing Murphy was known for doing well was cooking. It was a skill she put to good use catering for the Lions Club.
‘We have catered meals in all the time,? said Bennett ?…we had her start doing it. The meals were so good and she was so grateful for us that we just kept her on.?
Bennett didn’t hesitate to name his favorite dish of Murphy’s.
‘The cheesy potatoes. They were actually topped with potato chips. And she made a good swiss steak,? Bennett added.
‘I can always remember her for her laughing and giggling. The Lions never had a bad meal whenever she was cooking. She was very caring person that would do anything for anybody,? Bennett said.
‘Donna was an excellent cook. Apple crisp and chop suey were two of my favorites,? friend Jackie Hamilton, of Goodrich, said.
‘She would come up and have coffee with us in the morning (at Cheeky Monkeys). She just really was an inspiration to people. Her family was everything (to her),? Hamilton said.
Though many remember her as never being one to complain or dwell on having cancer, she did form a network of friends she looked to for support.
A funeral service was held Jan. 9 at Hill Funeral Home, 11723 S. Saginaw St., Grand Blanc, followed by internment at the Goodrich Cemetery.
In addition to Nothhelfer and her husband Tom and Mike and his wife Karen, Murphy is survived by son, Patrick of Goodrich, her nine grandchildren and eight grandchildren.
She is also survived by her siblings, Joan Eno of Millington, Wilma (Phil) Swart of Herron, Harry (Joann) March of Vassar, John (Ann) March of Lachine, Sharon (Tom) Mattison of Goodrich, Brenda (Bruce) Legue of Posen and Dianna (Keith) Brogden of Taylorsville, N.C and sister-in-law Ila VanKuren of Imlay City and brother-in-law, Arthur Murphy of Tawas City.