BAZETTA — Township residents Don and Grace Murphy have dedicated their lives to community service and helping others, but also have dedicated their lives to each other.

Earlier this week, family and friends gathered at Bazetta Christian Church to mark the couple’s 75th anniversary. They are both 93.

The church hall was decorated for the event with large 75th anniversary signs in the church hallway and outside the church and a table filled with photo albums and other items celebrating the Murphys.

Grace said they have spent their entire lives taking care of each other. She said when Don was in the military for two years, she waited for him.

“We have supported each other and been there for each other,” she said.

Don said they have had so much fun being together for 75 years and having their sons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren in their lives.

Doug Murphy, the couple’s oldest of their three sons, said his parents married at 18, but the wedding was delayed because of the winter weather.

“They were supposed to get married on Thanksgiving weekend in 1950 but there was 3 feet of snow the night before they were to get married. The wedding had to be postponed to Dec. 2, which was the next weekend. That was the big snowstorm of 1950 that I am sure anyone who was alive then will remember. My dad spent all day clearing the snow off the driveway and riding his tractor to the church to let anyone who may have shown up that the wedding was postponed to the next week, Doug said.

He said the Murphy men and women have a tradition of living a long time. The Kelley family — his mother’s relatives — also are blessed with good health.

Doug said the party at the church was for anyone who wanted to attend. A private party for their family is planned at their 150-year old house near the Trumbull County fairgrounds.

“We are glad people have come here to reminisce with the Murphy family. My parents have left an impression on so many people,” Doug said.

Don Murphy was a former Bazetta fire chief and Bazetta trustee, as well as a deacon, elder and trustee at the church. Grace Murphy was a four-year Lakeview school board member and a 50-year Sunday school teacher at Bazetta Christian Church.

The Murphys’ other sons are Bruce and George. They also have five grandsons and one granddaughter. Don had two brothers.

Doug Murphy said his daughter, Kaitlyn Takarsczak, is the oldest female offspring in the past 100 years.

He said his parents are still very active, with Don being a member of the Masonic Lodge, a trustee emeritus at the church and with the Trumbull County Tractor Club.

Doug said his father was on the church building committee and was involved with the work done to expand the church with new rooms, a fellowship hall and other areas.

He said the original Bazetta Christian Church is at the fairgrounds.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

“Community service and giving back was what my parents enjoyed doing. My father was one of the first Boy Scout leaders at the church and my mother was a Den mother for the Scouts. They are as active as they can be,” Doug said.

George Murphy said his parents were both hospice volunteers and emergency medical technicians,

“They volunteered so much. That was their life. They are the most unbelievable and loving people. Everyone calls them mom and dad,” George said.

He said his father still works on his farm.

George said his parents also have two great-grandchildren with the third on the way in 2026.

He said his grandfather gave his parents a 1-acre property where the fire station is by the fairgrounds and where he and his brothers were raised.

VISITORS SHARE MEMORIES

Bazetta resident Cheryl Tennant, a former trustee, said she served as a trustee with Don for several years starting in the 1980s.

“He was a great community leader. I have known him for a long time. It was great working with him because he was very knowledgeable about the township. He was also a great fire chief. Grace has also been an active member in the community,” Tennant said.

Jane Lewis, whose husband Robert was a fire chief and their son, Dennis, also a fire chief, said she knew the Murphys because her husband worked with Don when he was a fire chief.

“They are wonderful people. I have known them for years. When Don was fire chief, he was one of the best as a leader in our community,” Lewis said.