Murphy, Dr. James Dennis

Dr. James Dennis Murphy, 51, of Mexico, Mo., died of cancer Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009, at Iowa River Hospice in Marshalltown. Funeral Mass will be 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Patrick's Church in Tama with Father Mike Mescher and Deacon Thom Winninger officiating. Inurnment will be in St. Patrick's Cemetery, Tama. Visitation with the family will be one hour before the service at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Iowa River Hospice, P.O. Box 1086, Marshalltown, IA, 50158.

For condolences, please visit www.mitchellfh.com

The Mitchell Family Funeral Home in Marshalltown is caring for Jim and his family. (641) 844-1234.

Jim was born April 18, 1958, in Waterloo, Iowa, the son of Dr. George and Betty (Winninger) Bernardy. He lived in the Jesup area until 1963, when the family moved to Tama. Jim graduated from South Tama High School in 1976. He attended Palmer College of Chiropractic, where he graduated with a Doctor of Chiropractic in 1988. He established a very successful chiropractic practice in Mexico, Mo., where he touched countless lives with his extraordinary and intuitive healing expertise. Jim's contributions to the community of Mexico, Mo., included the development of The South Plaza mini mall and the establishment of the Big Brother program.

Jim was a member of the Missouri State Chiropractic Association, a Fellow in the Acupuncture Society of America and a member of the Mexico, Mo., Chamber of Commerce. Jim's hobbies and special interests included photography, fishing, music, and traveling.

He is survived by his mother, Bettie Bernardy; his stepfather, Ben Bernardy; his brothers, Dr. Michael Murphy (Wendy) of Hannibal, Mo., Tim Murphy of Hannibal, Joe Murphy (Kay) of Toledo, Iowa, and Tom Murphy (Chris) of Tama; his sisters, Becky Reinier (David) of Des Moines, Susan Auffart (Craig) of Cincinnati, Ohio, Kathy Studards (Chris) of Steeleville, Mo., and Ann Brown (Burdette) of Oskaloosa; his three stepbrothers and two stepsisters, all of California; many nieces, nephews and cousins; and special friend, Mary Jones of Minneapolis.

Jim was preceded in death by his father, George Murphy; and his brother, Dave Murphy.

The family would like to thank Iowa River Hospice and its volunteers for their loving care.