Carroll Murphy

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Carroll Murphy

SWEDEN — Carroll Murphy passed quietly at home, on December 31, 2010 after succumbing to a several-month battle with cancer.

Born Carroll Uljas Pulkkinen on September 7, 1947, he took the name of Murphy upon his mother’s marriage to Roy Murphy of Bethel. Mr. Murphy used the name for several years and legally changed it before the birth of his son Uljas.

He joined the Navy in 1966 and extended his enlistment to attend Fire Control Technician school. After school he was assigned to the U.S.S. Chicago to work as a technician on missile launching and target evaluation consoles. He made two cruises to the war zone in the Tonkin Gulf where the ship stood duty as a radar beacon for returning bombers and to provide missile support to protect returning damaged planes and rescue for downed pilots. He was honorably discharged in 1972 and returned to Maine after spending several months living in California.

He then started work as a logger which he continued until his illness. He owned his own business for several years, cutting in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. He cut on paper company land, state land, National Forest, and several water districts, finishing cutting mostly private lots in the Sweden area.

Mr. Murphy very much enjoyed the outdoors, especially hunting and fishing. His biggest joys were fishing in New York for large salmon and trout. The largest salmon, 35 and a half pounds, and trout, a 13 and a half pound brown and 17 and a half pound steelhead, were all caught on a fly rod in the Salmon River. Equally important to him were his yearly visits to Alaska with fishing pals. He went every year for 13 years. He truly loved the beauty and wilderness of Alaska.

He was a Master Maine Guide, a New York Fishing Guide, and an Alaska Fishing Guide. For a few years he held a Maine pulpwood scaler’s license and was also a licensed insurance agent. He always returned to logging.

He belonged to several organizations, the most notable being the N.R.A., S.A.M., and Act for America, the latter being very important to him. He served his town as a Selectman for one term, as Deputy Emergency Management Director, and was a trained C.E.R.T. member. He was also a member of MENSA.

Mr. Murphy is survived by his mother, Dorothea, of Market Square Health Care Center; his wife Patti of Sweden; his sister Patricia of Harrison; brothers, Bill Murphy and wife Sylvie of Woodstock and Kipp Cummings of Woodstock and son Uljas Murphy and wife Leighann of Zionville, NC. He was predeceased by father, Uljas Pulkkinen; stepfather, Roy Murphy and sister, Jana Roseberry.

Following Mr.Murphy's wishes, there will be no services or funeral; a celebration of his life will be held in the spring.

At his request, donations may be made in his memory to Harvest Hills Animal Shelter, 1389 Bridgton Rd., Fryeburg, ME 04038.