As My Father Before Me (From "On The Job" with Avery Thompson)

For the 8th season of "On The Job," host Avery Thompson shares stories of folks making pivots in their professional - and personal - lives. Whether it's a successful athlete transitioning into a new career off the field, a fly fishing tour guide trying to introduce a new segment of folks to the joys of the outdoors, or a stadium beer and hot dog hawker who doubles as the CEO of a red-hot start-up, we'll find out what drives them, how they've managed their pivots and what lies ahead. Strap in for eight more entertaining and heartfelt stories of people finding their life's work. "On The Job" is brought to you by Express Employment Professions.

On today's episode, Brian Murphy Is a fifth generation funeral director. Will there be a sixth? https://www.williammurphyfuneralhomeinc.com/

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to On the Job. On today's episode, we're headed
to Western Pa to speak with Brian Murphy, who's a
fifth generation small business owner and now with his kids
nearing adulthood. The question is will there be a sixth
when you're a kid? If you're lucky, death is a
distant thing, something you rarely have to deal with. But

(00:23):
for Brian Murphy, being the son of a funeral home
director meant that death was all around him, or more accurately,
right in his backyard.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
And we lived behind the funeral home. So as far
as growing up next to the funeral home, I have
very vivid memories of my dad going back and forth
all the time, dinner's being interrupted. It was really hectic.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
Did the funeral home scare you as a kid or no?

Speaker 2 (00:49):
No, I say it never really scared me. It maybe
intrigued me first short period of time. But I think
because in our house where we lived on the first
floor was the meeting room was filled with caskets every
day walking home from school, coming in, that's the first
thing you see. You kind of get used to it
and it's like second nature almost.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
It might sound surprising that a young kid would be
so blase about death. But as Brian sees it, that's
just part of being a Murphy because for about as
long as his ancestors have been in these parts, they've
been in the funeral business.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Well, like I said, it started with William Andrew Hartzell.
Then it moved to Fred C. Murphy, who was my
great grandfather, and then William A. H. Murphy who was
my grandfather, William F. Murphy who was my father, and
then there's me.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
According to a study by Cornell University, only forty percent
of American owned businesses are passed down to the next generation,
and only thirteen percent make it to the third and
a measly three percent reached the fourth generation. So what
the Murphy family has managed to do for five generations
in Rochester is quite the feat. When you were a kid,

(01:59):
where you out of what your dad did.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Oh yeah, I was definitely proud.

Speaker 1 (02:04):
He could also see that running such a business didn't
come easy.

Speaker 2 (02:08):
I always, you know, wondered why we couldn't go on
vacations like every other family, or you know, why my
dad wasn't at my sporting events or different activities. It
was because he was thought he was the only one available.
To be here, and he just surrounded himself with the
funeral home and everything else kind of came in second fiddle.

Speaker 3 (02:27):
Did you at any point feel almost trapped or the
fact that if you didn't want to go into the
family business, like you'd be letting him or your grandparents
down or great grandparents.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
More so my grandparents, I feel like I'd be letting
them down. My grandpa and I were thick as thieves,
and as close as we were, that's how closed my
father and I weren't.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
But in fairness to Brian's dad, William Murphy, Brian admits
that he wasn't in any condition back then to be
entrusted with such responsibility.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
Yeah. I had my first drink when I was thirteen.
It just snowballed. By the time I was a senior
in high school, I was drinking, you know, probably four
or five nights a week.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
Fortunately, though, soon after getting married, Brian realized the path
that he was on would only end in tragedy, and
that's something needed to give now.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
I just decided it was time to get sober. I
entered rehab. I was supposed to be in there for
thirty days. They let me out after sixteen trying to
prove myself and staying sober and staying straight. Now, by
that time I was thirty six or thirty seven, so
I had a pretty late start, but I was still starting.
I enrolled in the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science when

(03:40):
I was thirty seven and graduated right after my fortieth birthday.

Speaker 3 (03:44):
Well done, nice, thank you.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
Brian has made sure that his kids know he supports
whatever it is they choose to do with their lives,
but regardless of where their roads might lead them. Brian
also felt a need to sit his kids down and
have that old Murphy talk.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
And even though I knew, you know, Parkernella probably weren't
going to come to this path, I at least wanted
them to know that I wanted them to and the
door was open.

Speaker 3 (04:11):
They said no.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
My son kind of chuckled because we both knew where
that was going. My daughter, on the other hand, lately,
within the last probably two months, has shown more interest
than she ever has. So there's a heartbeat.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
For on the job. I'm Avery Thompson.

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