Muriel Dunphy, Wife of ASA Hall of Famer Don Dunphy, Dies

The following article, written by Nedra Rhone, appeared in New York Newsday on August 15, 2004

Every Friday night before a boxing match, Muriel Dunphy would stir up a batch of "kickapoo juice." No small task considering the more than 2,000 fights that her husband, ASA Hall of Famer and the "Voice of Boxing"Don Dunphy, called in his career. He used the blend of honey, lemon juice and glycerin to protect his voice before going on the air.

It was just one of the many ways that Muriel Dunphy let her family know that they were at the center of her life.

"I'll just miss her being around and her support of the family," said her son, Don Dunphy, Jr., who is the VP of News Services at ABC News.

Muriel Dunphy, 89, died August 14 of natural causes, said her son. The long-time Manhasset, Long Island, resident was living at the Sunrise assisted living facility in Glen Cove. Her husband died in 1998.

Born in Brooklyn to a tight-knit family, Dunphy grew up without her father, who died before she reached her second birthday. Her only sibling, a brother, died in childhood. She and her mother moved into a Chelsea apartment that was always filled with aunts and uncles, said her son.

In 1942, a co-worker at NBC, where Dunphy was a secretary, set her up on a blind date. It didn't take long for Don Dunphy to propose. The couple lived in Jackson Heights, Queens, raising their two sons, before moving to Long Island.

Dunphy, who received a bachelor's degree from Hunter College, was very active in the lives of her husband and children. She would meet lots of sports figures while attending events with her husband and in 1978, she was an extra in the movie "Matilda" in which her husband had a role. She appeared as a ringside spectator and when filming was delayed, she noted that she wore the same clothes for several days straight.

"Everyone thought what a wonderful, warm and humorous person she was," Dunphy, Jr. said. "She was always upbeat."

In addition to her membership in the Strathmore Vanderbilt Women's Club and the St. Mary's Rosary Society, Dunphy enjoyed reading biographies and history and golfing with her husband and friends. Dunphy is survived by Don Dunphy, Jr. and another son, Bon Dunphy, of Ridgefield, Conn.