Mary Frances Murphy

Cedar Falls - Mary Frances Murphy, 60, of Cedar Falls, passed away July 3, 2021 after a brief and courageous battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. She was born September 6, 1960, in Cedar Falls, the daughter of Kenneth and Frances (Smith) Murphy and graduated from Cedar Falls High School in 1978. Mary was self-employed owning the Cedar Falls Cleaning Company. Over the years, her loyal customers became more like family. Mary showed compassionate care for her clients through their own difficult times and had an uncanny ability to sense what people needed before generously providing, which made Mary a beloved friend and caregiver. As hard as she worked, Mary had a fun and adventurous side too, and you could hear her laugh from the next block over. She loved to tailgate at Iowa State football games, cheer on the Cubs from the bleacher section in Wrigley Field, host her and Pat's annual Sturgis Falls parade party, and travel with her friends and family. She especially enjoyed her trips to New Orleans, Houston, and Jamaica, but her all-time favorite trip was to Memphis, to walk in the footsteps of Elvis. Mary was incredibly lucky to have many close friends who shared her sense of adventure and were always up for some shenanigans. She will be dearly missed by everyone who knew her. Mary is survived by her sister Pat Murphy, brother Tom (Jill) Murphy, cousin Julie Friis, all of Cedar Falls and sister-in-law Mary Murphy of Marion, IA as well as her nieces and nephews: Sandi Murphy, John (Sarah) Murphy, Fr. Mark Murphy, Megan (Jerad) Hail, Keith (Megan) Murphy, J.J. (Rebecca) Friis and Jamie Friis. Mary is also survived by many grand nieces and nephews.She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Mike Murphy. Mass of Christian burial will be 11am Wednesday, July 7, 2021, at St Patrick Catholic Church in Cedar Falls. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at church. Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery, Cedar Falls. Memorials may be directed to the family for a scholarship fund in Mary’s name to benefit her grand nieces and nephews. The family would especially like to thank the staff at University of Iowa Hospitals leukemia unit for providing such wonderful, personal care and a comforting space in the chaos of her disease and the compassionate staff at MercyOne-Cedar Falls that cared for Mary in her final days.

Mary Frances Murphy

September 6, 1960 - July 3, 2021