Edward “Eddie” Murphy, 38, of Oelwein passed away Thursday September 12, 2019 at Northwest Medical Center in Springdale, Arkansas surrounded by his family. Visitation will be at the Geilenfeld-Buehner Funeral Home on Wednesday September 18, 2019 from 3-7 PM with memorial services beginning at 7:00 PM. Memorials may be directed to the family and will be used to create the Edward John Murphy Scholarship.
Edward John Murphy was born December 18th, 1980. He was brought home and presented proudly to his siblings in a red Christmas stocking lined with gold. As a toddler and pretty much the rest of his life Edward or Eddie John as his parents called him, was a gentle caring soul. Being the youngest and sweetest child of Mitch and Teresa, he was their pride and joy. Young Eddie John loved to eat Cheerio’s in the nude and annoy his older siblings, always wanting to be included. He was known for “tattling” on his siblings, but soon grew out of that after numerous “talking to’s” from his brother and sister. None the less, Eddie was known to everyone as a sweet and gentle child, and that trait would follow him throughout his, as we know now, short but memorable life.
As Eddie grew, he found that he had a talent and love for drama and demonstrated this in school plays throughout his years in the Oelwein School District. Before long Eddie was the only Murphy child left at home. With Tony in the Marine Corps and Jeannie gone, Ed had run of the Murphy home. “He was the perfect child” his mother was quoted as saying much to the dismay of his siblings. As he grew, Ed spent most of his time with his friends. Rumor has it that he was the very first person to slide down the brand-new water slide in Oelwein when he and an anonymous friend broke in and slid down the slide with no water on it. “It took forever to scoot down that slide” said the anonymous friend, but Eddie did it with a smile on his face. Eddie was in a lot of plays, made a lot of people laugh, and even made a couple three pointers for his dad before graduating Oelwein Senior High School in 1999.
Once Eddie graduated, he headed West to California with the same anonymous friend to embark on a journey of a lifetime that would cover most of the United States. Over the next 20 years, Eddie would be an actor, professional wrestler, comedian, personal trainer, salesman, impressionist, philosopher and a full-time pit-bull activist. He was known as Ian McMurphy on the professional wrestling circuit and 1/2 of the tag team “The Irish Assassin’s” with his brother Tony. Along the way, Eddie built friendships from California to Chicago all the way down to Florida that will outlast his lifetime, teaching people love and compassion rarely seen in today’s society.
Eddie was a charismatic gentleman that treated everyone with respect. He had the kind of personality that allowed him to function inside any group of friends. Eddie could do a perfect impression of Christopher Walken, cook like Gordon Ramsey and debate you politically…and if you gave him control of the radio, he would take you on the most eclectic musical ride of your life. He was a lover of movies and could quote them all verbatim. All of these traits made him the life of every party and an all-around entertaining fellow. Rumor has it that after meeting wresting legend Jake the Snake Roberts, he wooed the wrestling legends daughter with a double bicep pose and a "Nature Boy Wooo".
Eddie passed away suddenly on September 12th, 2019 at 3:48 AM due to an undiagnosed inoperable brain tumor that was discovered after a seizure.
Eddie was preceded in death by his Grandparents Bill and Jean Murphy on his father’s side and Fred and Marlys Alessio on his mother’s side.
Eddie is survived by his mother and father Mitch and Teresa Murphy of Oelwein, big sister Jeannie of Cedar Rapids, and big brother Tony and wife Brittin along with their two boys Colton and Jaxon of Fayetteville, Arkansas, as well as many other loving family members and friends. And of course, Molly, his dog and companion until the end. Eddie was a beloved son, brother, nephew, cousin and the best uncle his two nephews, Colton and Jaxon, could ask for.
Statistic’s say that a brain tumor like Eddie’s is 1 in a million, which is only fitting because Eddie was exactly this…..one in a million. He was the best of all of us and is gone way too soon.
