Mary Ann Murphy

Mary Ann Murphy of Lake Ridge, Va., died on Oct. 20, 2019, of complications from surgery. She was three months shy of her 90th birthday.
Born Mary Ann Best on Jan. 16, 1930, in Philadelphia to Rufina (Swartz) Best and Dr. Harry Clyde Best, she grew up in Devon, Pa., and graduated from the Baldwin School before attending Connecticut College, where she studied art and history.
She worked as an occupational therapist in Portland, Ore., while taking classes in current affairs at Reed College and then moving to San Francisco, where she was a salesgirl at the legendary Gump’s (Eleanor Roosevelt bought purses from her) and also designed jewelry for the store.
In San Francisco, Mary Ann met Edward M. Murphy, a young Army officer stationed at the Presidio. They wed at Valley Forge, Pa., and were married for 44 years before Edward’s death in 2000. They raised three daughters, first in San Diego, then in London, and finally in Virginia.
Mary Ann read widely. She was never without a book and introduced the classics to her daughters and grandsons. She loved history, archeology, travel, the natural world, the fine arts and classical music, attending the symphony and the Met in New York. In England in the 1970s, Mary Ann was an avid brass rubber, marching into country churches, lifting up the rugs, and getting out her rolls of paper and black and gold crayons. Mary Ann was a magnificent knitter, a good Scrabble player and a decent bridge player. She was an accomplished artist, and resumed the piano lessons of her childhood in her 80s. She was a kind and beloved friend, especially to her Baldwin classmate Dale Child and her neighbors at Westminster at Lake Ridge and River Ridge, as well as a cherished mother and grandmother.
She is survived by her daughters, Lisa Redman, Mary Jo Murphy and Susan Flynn; their husbands, Doug Redman, Bill Sweeney and Kurt Flynn; grandsons Brendan Flynn and Andy Flynn; sister Harriet Sweeton; and many nieces and nephews.
There will be a memorial service at Westminster at Lake Ridge, and she will be inurned at Arlington National Cemetery. Details pending.