"Well, he was a very very caring person...He was not judgmental," Savannah Murphy one of his daughters says. Meghan Murphy is youngest daughter says he didn't stop helping others until the last of his days. "Everything he did for all those people, wasn't in vain. He saved a lot of lives and it's very noble that he didn't ask for anything in return," Meghan says.

 

And today family and friends gathered at the Queen of Peace Catholic Community Church to celebrate his life. As a former lieutenant, Murphy felt strongly about veterans. He helped found vetspace, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping homeless veterans.

 

Cyndee Murphy his wife says, "He was very specific in wanting it to be a hand up and not a hand out, because he knew these guys once served their country and had dignity and bravery."

 

Before moving to Gainesville, he was also one of the first men to direct a domestic abuse shelter in St. Petersberg. That is where he met Vicki Froman, a victim at the shelter. They kept a 25 year friendship. He was with her at her hardest moments, something Froman says she's appreciative for. "He kept you laughing even when you were crying, he was there when you needed. I had a miscarriage and he was right there holding em and at the hospital bed with me," Froman says.

 

Savannah hopes to give back to her community as much as her father did, she tells me. "And a lot of people you know, they want to help but they think someone else is going to do it and i am not someone else, i am not someone else because of my dad," Savannah said.

 

Murphy died at the age of 64 and hopes to continue giving back even after his death. Before dying he asked to donate the healthy parts of his body to research and science. Giving... It's a life lesson Murphy's daughters Meghan and Savannah will never forget.