The Loss of His Mother
Murphy worked at a radio repair shop, a general store, garage, and gas station in Greenville. As for his siblings, authorities placed his three youngest siblings in the Boles Children’s Home, a Christian orphanage. Dealing with the loss of his mother was something that stayed with Murphy throughout his life. He stated once that “She died when I was sixteen. She had the most beautiful hair I’ve ever seen. It reached almost to the floor.”
Source: Find a Grave
He went on to say that “She rarely talked, and always seemed to be searching for something. What it was, I don’t know. We didn’t discuss our feelings. But when she passed away, she took something of me with her. It seems I’ve been searching for it ever since.”