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In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
MURPHY, Hugh Preston - In Quebec City, on October 8, 1968, at the age of 68 years, died Mr. Hugh Preston Murphy, husband in first marriage of the late Dame Claire Bilodeau, and in second marriage of Dame Barbara Donovan. Father of Wenceslas (Wendy), John Rickard, Francis, Margaret (Mrs. J. E. Cooper), Sister Barbara. Brother of Joseph, Frances, Mary (Mrs. T. Miles). He resided at 110 West, Grande-Allée. Funeral services will be held Saturday at 10 o'clock. Departure from the funeral home Cie Hubert Moisan, 35 East, Grande-Allée, at 9:50 a.m. to St. Patrick's Church and thence to St. Patrick's Cemetery. (Translation of obituary from L'Action newspaper, 12 Oct 1968, page 17)
Click here to view the original obituary
Preston was born January 14, 1901 in Saint John, NB to John and Hannah Murphy. He was the second oldest and his siblings were Simon (oldest; served in the First World War), Mary. Joseph (served in the Second World War), Hannah, Cecilia, Annie, James and Frances.
Between 1903 and 1905, the family moved to Lauzon, Quebec where John Murphy was a tugboat captain there.
Preston first married Claire Bilodeau in 1921 in Lauzon, Quebec and they had three children - Wenceslas (1922), Claude (1923), and John Marcel (1924-1925). Claire died in 1925 shortly before John Marcel. Both had tuberculosis or some sort of 'consumption'.
He worked as a ship-fitter in Lauzon until he moved to Beaupre to work at the Abitibi Pulp and Paper Mill as a Stationary Engineer. He moved there after Claire and John Marcel's death, around 1926. He was quite involved with the union while he worked at Abitibi.
Preston met Barbara Donovan in Quebec City and were married in Montreal in 1930. She was from Montreal; her cousin had a friend who knew my Preston and the two set them up.
Their children were John (1931), Rickard (1932), Francis (1933), Margaret (1934; my mother), and Barbara (1942; a 'surprise' baby). All the children were born in Beaupre.
At the beginning of the Second World War, Wencaslas and Claude both joined the army. Wenceslas joined the Van Doos and served in Europe returning home safely. Claude joined the Royal Canadian Rifles. Because Claude was 17, Preston had to sign the papers for Claude to join.
Claude was sent to Hong Kong in November 1941 and was killed at the Battle of Hong Kong on or about December 19, although his official date of death is December 26, 1941. He was initially listed as missing and as a prisoner of war, but the witness interviews after the war stated that he was killed in the battle.
Preston's daughter said that he felt responsible for Claude's death and this was the reason he joined in early 1942. Because of his work at the Abitibi plant as a Stationary Engineer he enlisted in the RCNVR as a Stoker. Shortly before he left Quebec, Preston came home for the weekend with some of his crew mates. Preston's daughter said that they all called him 'Pops' because he was the oldest of them. He would have just turned 41 when he joined.
After the war Preston returned to working at Abitibi till he retired around 1965 and he Barbara moved to Quebec City. He died on October 8, 1968 and is buried in St. Patrick's Cemetery. (Submitted by Preston's grandson Alex)
Hugh and Barbara (née Donovan) Murphy c1942
Chief and Petty Officers' Course No. 12 HMCS CORNWALLIS 28 Oct 1942
(17) Murphy, Hugh Preston, Sto PO
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