Steven C. Murphy, 58

Word has come of the death of Steven Christopher Murphy, who lived in East Hampton from 1987 to 2003, in a hiking accident in Wailuku, Hawaii. Mr. Murphy, who was 58, died on Nov. 11, 2018.
Born on Aug. 2, 1960, in Greenburg, Pa., he was one of three children of the former Judith Angela Hart and Bernard Thomas Murphy, both of whom survive and live in Mertztown, Pa. He grew up in Summit, N.J.
Mr. Murphy attended the Kent School in Connecticut for three years and graduated from Summit High School, going on to earn a B.A. in photography from Alfred University in Alfred, N.Y., where he was on the dean’s list. Photography was a lifelong passion, said his former wife, Annette Marshall Franey of East Hampton.
He worked for several years in Southampton at Koral Brothers, building houses, and continued to design and build houses on his own. He also designed surfboards, windsurfers, and paddleboards, all of which he used himself. He “absolutely was crazy about” those sports, said Mrs. Franey, and kite-surfing as well.
Music was another interest: Blues, bluegrass, blues-rock, and country folk. His favorite artists were John Prine, Mark Knopfler, Led Zeppelin, and Django Reinhardt.
Mr. Murphy’s family said he had a great sense of humor and was very outgoing. “He was engaging, and full of creative talent . . . such a pleasure to be with because he knew how to enjoy life, and share that joy with others,” they said.
While he was married and living in East Hampton, he and Mrs. Franey had a son, Jack Murphy, who lives with his mother. Mr. Murphy moved to Haiku, Maui, in 2003, where he continued to design houses.
In addition to his son and parents, two sisters, Claire Cleveland of Lemont, Pa., and Lynne Murphy of Mertztown, survive, as does a nephew.
Mr. Murphy was cremated, and his ashes will be dispersed in East Hampton, Pennsylvania, and Maui. Memorial donations have been suggested for the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, 124 Daniel’s Hole Road, East Hampton 11937.