Marjorie Belle Murphy, 93

Marjorie Belle Murphy, born April 13, 1931, passed away surrounded by her loving family July 12, 2024. She was born in Detroit, Mich., to Ora Paul Little and Lydia Bell Little. Marge grew up in Hamilton, Mont., along with her beloved siblings, Peggy and Richard. From a young age, Marge had a deep love for life. Her curiosity and desire for adventure, enjoyment of friends and community, and pursuit of the arts lead to a lifetime of fun, creativity and achievement.  

Whether skiing on wooden sticks, heisting jalopies for ice cream runs, attending school dances, games and rallies, or excelling in theater, cheerleading, Girls State, debate and home economics, Marge was always an enthusiastic participant and often the leader of the activities. In college, she joined the Beta Sigma Phi sorority and was a proud lifelong member. 

After moving to Missoula, Marge married another Bitterroot Valley transplant, Doug Flanagin, and had five wonderful children, Steve, Janet, Neil, Jill and Julienne. While raising her family, Marge also worked for the Forest Service and administered the Smokejumper Training Camp and Base in Missoula. She shared her life with best friends, Joyce Louquet and Irene Larsen, and exchanged many hours of babysitting with the Larsen’s. 

Marge moved to Hayden Lake, Idaho, in 1973 and began a new chapter of life with a second marriage to Tom Murphy. Her family grew with the addition of Tom’s children: Mike, Kathy and Pat, and she spent many years enjoying the Murphy Bay homestead on Lake Pend O’Reille with their blended family. Great memories were made with Margie dancing at the Middle Earth, crushing younger people at volleyball and hosting countless family events, skiing and boating outings. 

In their 50 years of marriage, Marge and Tom traveled the world, embraced other cultures, made numerous friends, ventured from helicopters onto mountain tops and learned about food and wine cultivation. Together, they started the wine distribution company Vehrs, where they partnered with many vintners from the U.S. and around the world to help bring wine into restaurants, Costco and our homes.  

Marge and Tom also used their business to give back to the community, with philanthropic efforts including a charity that raised the funds to build and help maintain Hayden’s Children’s Village, a shelter for survivors of domestic abuse. Other organizations such as the 3Cs Cancer Charities also benefited from Marge’s time and extraordinary fundraising and event planning skills. 

Beyond her work for Vehrs and the community, Marge was devoted to her passion for the arts. She took courses in architecture and interior design and used her skills to design and build her family home at Hayden Lake, as well as the lake house on Murphy Bay. Marge also studied sculpture and watercolor painting, and over years of practice, she became a master, creating numerous works of art loved by all. Her aesthetic sense had informed her personal style since childhood. She treasured the dresses sent by her mother from Los Angeles and continued to dress with an elegance and style that remained until the end of her life. 

Marge was also known to be slightly competitive. She had a love for games and sports that carried on throughout her life, with wins in everything from high school competitions to tennis championships at the Hayden Lake Country Club. She was a skilled card player, devoted to her Bridge group, as well as to playing raucous games with family like Oh Hell or nightly games of Gin Rummy with Tom. Whenever she won, we all knew how much she liked it. And when she lost, we certainly knew how she felt about that, too. 

Marge was a force of nature. She lived life boldly, bravely and with endless amounts of love and compassion for others. She was a tough, wise-cracking Montana woman who searched for life’s beauty and light even in the hardest and most challenging times. Her ability to stay positive and focused on healing despite difficulties with her health was particularly an inspiration. 

Marge was known for her humor, wit and wisdom, often cutting to the heart of the matter with a turn of phrase, useful insight or a well-placed joke that often helped others comprehend the great complexities, joys and sorrows of life. 

Simply put, there was only one Marge. 

Marge is preceded in death by her father, Ora Paul Little; mother Lydia Bell; brother Richard Little; sister Peggy Jinx; stepson Patrick Murphy; and daughter Jill Flanagin. Margie is survived by her husband, Tom Murphy; children: Steve Flanagin, Janet Larsen, Neil Flanagin and Julienne Flanagin; stepchildren: Mike Murphy and Kathy Jones; daughters-in-law: Yen Flanagin, Brenda Flanagin, Wendy McKee, Patty Murphy and Sharon Murphy; son-in-law Ric Larsen; and grandchildren: Erin Flanagin, Tyler Larsen, Michael Flanagin, Connor Larsen, Charissa Jones, Josh Jones, Caleb Murphy, Lindsay Smith, Whitney Tampien, Chris Murphy, Rebecca Einsmiller, Sarah Beiers, Jake Murphy and Bethan Contabile.

A celebration of life will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, at the Hayden Lake Country Club (2362 E. Bozanta Dr. Hayden Lake, ID 83835). Please visit Marge’s online memorial and sign her guestbook at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.