Patrick Murphy, 51. He graduated from Monsignor Farrell High School and earned an associate’s degree from Empire State College, Ocean Breeze.
Former Staten Islander Patrick P. Murphy, 51, a retired NYPD sergeant and 9/11 responder who will be remembered as a loving family man, died Wednesday in Bellevue Hospice, Manhattan, after a long illness.
Born and raised in Great Kills, Mr. Murphy lived in Westerleigh until 2009, when he relocated to Brooklyn. He graduated from Monsignor Farrell High School and earned an associate’s degree from Empire State College, Ocean Breeze.
A member of the NYPD from 1983 to 2004, Mr. Murphy served in the elite emergency service unit.
Mr. Murphy was off-duty on the morning of September 11, 2001. But after the first plane struck Tower 1 of the World Trade Center, he rushed with four other officers to Squad 5, which has its headquarters in New Dorp, next to the 122nd Precinct stationhouse; packed up a van full of rescue equipment, and sped off to the WTC.
The Squad 5 officers arrived as Tower 2 was collapsing, but they were able to help more than 100 civilians evacuate the Trade Center site. After Tower 1 collapsed, they spent 12 hours digging through the rubble, trying to locate survivors.
Mr. Murphy, along with other first responders, was awarded the NYPD Medal for Valor on June 16, 2004, in a ceremony at Police Headquarters.
In his leisure time, he enjoyed being with his family.
Mr. Murphy is survived by his wife of three years, the former Elizabeth Brennan; his son, Patrick; his daughter, Bridget Murphy; his mother, Patricia Murphy, and his sister, Detective Ann Marie Murphy.
The funeral will be Tuesday from the Casey Funeral Home, Castleton Corners, with a mass at 11 a.m. in St. Clare’s R.C. Church, Great Kills. Arrangements include cremation.
