Barbara Gail Murphy (Steinberg)
Barbara Murphy, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, passed away on October 10, 2020, after a sudden and brief illness, at the University of Michigan Hospital.
Barbara was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 23,
1945, to Alfred and Rose Steinberg. She grew up in
Queens, New York and graduated from Jamaica High School
and moved to Ann Arbor to attend the University of
Michigan when she was sixteen. Barbara married former
spouse Bill Murphy in 1965. She graduated with a BA in
Linguistics and Psycholinguistics in 1967 and continued
with Graduate work in Educational Psychology. Always
politically engaged, Barbara was an early member of
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), where she made
life-long friendships.
Barbara made Ann Arbor’s Old West Side her home - since
1964, she was a beloved neighbor, friend, and activist -
and the University of Michigan her professional home.
Her thirty-three-year career with the University of
Michigan began in 1965 as a clerk in the General Library
then, in 1967, as a conference editor at the Institute
of Labor and Industrial Relations, later secretary at
the Institute for Social Research, Survey Research
Center, followed by positions as a Computer Consultant,
Procedures Analyst and ultimately Research Associate at
the Institute. Active in the early days of the Women’s
Initiatives, she served as Assistant Chair of the
Commission for Women, Office of the University President
(1974–1977) and in positions in the Affirmative Action
Office.
Barbara took a four-year hiatus from UM to serve as
Director of the Equal Opportunities Office at Oakland
University in Rochester, Michigan. She returned to the
UM and served as Administrative Manager of the School of
Natural Resources (1984-1990), and after that, Assistant
to the Dean for Budget and Personnel in the College of
Literature, Science, and the Arts, (1990-2000), the
position from which she retired.
Through both her professional work and her community
service, Barbara exercised her passion for working for a
socially just world and she consulted for a variety of
government and non-profit organizations including
Washtenaw County Assault Crisis Center, the Federal
Programs Advisory Service and the Health and Human
Services "Higher Education and the Handicapped" project
in Washington, DC.
Throughout, Barbara’s many volunteer commitments
included serving on the Boards of the Guild House Campus
Ministries, Old West Side Association, and the Huron
Valley Girl Scout Council Finance Committee. She was
elected for three terms to be a member of the Ann Arbor
District Library Board of Trustees.
Barbara Murphy was, personally and professionally, a
force to be reckoned with! She was a resourceful,
spirited, generous, truth-telling, playful friend to
hundreds of people near and far, and a great lover of
many cats. She made her home on Second Street a welcome
and nourishing space for connection, laughter, and
wonderful food for over 50 years.
Barbara traveled extensively and enthusiastically. Early
in her career in she spent fifteen months at the Turkish
Development Foundation, Ankara, Turkey assessing needs
for computer software systems and systems analysis. In
1977, while visiting Britain, Germany and France, she
met her husband-to-be, Gavin, in Scotland. They each
traversed the Atlantic several times before Gavin
emigrated to the US in 1979. Barbara married Gavin
Ramsay Eadie in Ann Arbor on November 16, 1984.
Subsequently, Barbara and Gavin made many journeys
together, often with friends, to Britain, Alaska,
Antarctica, Australia, Italy, France, the Galapagos
Islands, Turkey and the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and
nearby countries.
A graveside service, officiated by long-time friend
Julie Gales, was held, and Barbara laid to rest, on
Tuesday, October 13, 2020, at the Arborcrest Memorial
Park, 2521 Glazier Way, Ann Arbor, MI 48105.
She is survived by her husband, Gavin Eadie, her sister
Lynda Steinberg (Tony Jiga) of Manhattan, New York, and
her niece Alexandra Jiga (Geoff Abbott) of Rockland,
Maine.
Contributions may be made to the ACLU of Michigan:
2966 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201
ACLU of Michigan
You may leave memories of Barbara at:
Dignity Memorial
Gavin Eadie [ gavin AT umich DOT edu ]