Helen Joseph was born on February 18,
1931, in Harlem, NY. Her family was killed in
a fire when she was very young. She and 2
of her sisters grew up in Wading River
Orphanage on Long Island. She lived there
until her teenage years. She was adopted by
the McCarthy family and lived on Long
Island. Unfortunately, the McCarthys
stopped her education and put her to work
alongside another previously adopted older
girl also named Helen. The McCarthys had
two servants, Big Helen and the newly
adopted Little Helen. The sad
circumstances of Little Helen’s start in life
did not deter her. At the age of 18, she left
the McCarthys and returned to Harlem.
There she met Joseph Murphy and had two
children, a girl the late Linda Murphy Lilley,
and a boy Joseph Alan Murphy. Helen never
married. She got her GED and dedicated
herself to the struggles of raising a family as
a single parent. Helen actually had two
careers. She was a dedicated employee of
Citibank for 25 years and not too long after
retirement, she started working again and
devoted herself to Pathmark for another 10
years before retiring for good.
Helen liked to go on long walks and meeting
the people in the neighborhood. Later she
became active in the church and was
baptized as a Jehova Witness. Helen had an
infectious laugh and loved entertaining her
grandchildren with stories and telling jokes.
Helen is survived by her son Joseph
Murphy, daughter-in-law Rochelle,
grandchildren Monique Hull (Colin Hull) &
Melanie Murphy, and great-grandchildren
Sienna & Sierra Hull.