Dan Murphy

Dan continues to be a regular contributor to the planning and execution of council activities long after his two-year term as our Grand Knight (2002-04). He has been our director of community activities for years, highlighted by our cookouts at St. Joseph’s Nursing Home in Oak Cliff, the seminarians at Holy Trinity in Irving and at the VA hospital in Dallas.

Dan is from Irving, graduated from Jesuit College Prep (a member of the track team, he was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame in 2008 for his track exploits) and then from the Naval Academy, where he majored in oceanography – and was on the track team. His leadership skills were evident to us early on; he joined the Knights in October 1998 and became our Chancellor two years later and Grand Knight soon after.

During the Covid pandemic when many aspects of council and parish life were restricted and our schedule of Lenten fish fries was suspended, Dan called together Knights to fry up our remaining filets and present them to the EMTs at Methodist Charlton Medical Center. A week later, KC’s under his direction prepared fish tacos for the overall MCMC staff. Then there were lunches of burgers and hot dogs for the EMTs again in mid-May and for the residents of St. Joseph Residence in Oak Cliff, which we typically do at least once a year, a short time later.

Dan and Patty Murphy have been married since 1975, meeting in Philadelphia during his days at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Today, Dan and Patty could probably sprint over to Holy Spirit from their Duncanville home, they live so close. They have two grown daughters, Kimberly and Erin, and five grandchildren.

To mark the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Naval Academy Class of 1975 at Annapolis, a couple of dozen seasoned sailors are planning to do an epic 1200 mile land trip, on bicycles, from the Florida gulf coast to Annapolis, Maryland. The Gulf to Goat (G2G) charity bike ride will begin on Oct. 1, 2025, in Apalachicola, FL and transit along the east coast, arriving at the “Bill the Goat” statue inside Gate 1 at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD on Oct. 22, 2025, in time for the 50th Reunion festivities. Fifteen Classmates have committed to the G2G not only to honor their class legacy but to also collect donations for their Reunion Class Project/Class Gift and four charities that are close to classmates.