Nora Marlo Murphy was born June 16, 1941 to Muriel and Northam Murphy in Monterey, California. Nora’s birth father was wounded in the Pacific during WW2 and died when she was very young. Her mother remarried a young war veteran, Roy Neely, and the family, including her brother Michael, spent years moving between California and Alaska. Nora was a happy, bright student who loved reading the classics and was voted valedictorian of her graduating high school class. For her graduation present, Nora’s father, a pilot, taught her how to fly and perform aerobatics.
Nora’s journey of faith started at the age of six when she announced to her parents that she would be attending the church down the street. Later, Nora went to Columbia Christian College for high school and then Abilene Christian College where she met her husband to be, Gordon Oliver Ellis from Smithville, Ontario. They married in 1961 and in 1964, moved to Port Arthur, Ontario to help seed a church.
Nora and Gordon brought three children into the world: Gordon Oliver, born in Texas in 1962, Roy Franklyn, born in Port Arthur in 1965, and Romy Marlo, who arrived in May 1969. Nora always considered childrearing to have been her most important life work, and she was a dedicated and tender mother.
Style was serious business to Nora and she brought her Californian fashion sense with her when she arrived in the Lakehead. For the ever-elegant Nora, there was no such thing as too many shoes or bangles. Nora’s homemaking skills were exceptional; she sewed family clothes, made curtains by hand, designed and tended colourful flower gardens and was a great cook. Nora was a passionate music fan, and was especially dedicated to Frank Sinatra, Pavarotti, Opera and Il Divo.
Gordon and Nora loved camping with the kids and other friends and family members. They canoed, hiked, boated and car-camped up and down the North Shore of Lake Superior. Many wonderful memories were made fishing in Quetico, Nipigon and Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.
Nora was a leader at the Church of Christ on Redwood Avenue, where she taught Sunday school, and helped run the Young People’s program with Gordon. Nora provided a strong feminine leadership that was not always welcome. Nora was ahead of the curve when it came to standing strong in her womanhood and we are so proud of her in this regard.
Once the children had grown, Nora worked at the Port Arthur General and CKPR where she was recruited to be a judge on “Reach for the Top”. She then moved on to St. Joseph’s Heritage and McKellar Hospital where she enjoyed managing staffing.
Gordon and Nora moved to their lakeside dream home in Amethyst Heights in 1986. Their son Gordon married Cheryl Marchand in 1991, and they brought grandchildren Devin Dylan and Austin Ora into the family circle. Nora called Devin and Austin her “sweet boys” and doted on them.
In 1997, Gordon and Nora travelled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where Gord taught secondary mathematics. In 2003, they were hired to work as teachers in Tianjin, China. Nora was always enamoured with the East and these were happy times.
In her final years, Nora was deeply involved in leadership at Grace Church on Court Street in Thunder Bay. She was committed to her work as chair of the board, and in her wisdom, helped transition the church out of COVID and hire a new pastor. She was right in the middle of this work when she became ill. During the chemo and the months that followed, Nora lived courageously, but the cancer returned.
Nora died on August 14th 2024 at 7:45 a.m., at the Thunder Bay Regional with sun shining on her face and her family by her side. Our witty, beautiful mother, faithful wife and devoted friend is missed beyond words.
Celebration of Life to be held September 11th, 2024 at 11 a.m. at Grace Church, 289 Court St. N., Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.sargentandson.com.
