Kenneth Wayne (Ken) Murphy, 84, former owner and CEO of The Mail Box, Inc. and Label Source, Ltd. as well as a co owner of Arken Tech passed away of a heart attack at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas on April 10, 2023. Ken was born at Methodist Hospital in Dallas, TX to Basil Brian (Brian) and Frankie Nell (Saunders) Murphy on March 2. 1939. He graduated from Alba High School as the valedictorian of his class in 1956 and from North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) in 1960. Ken proudly served his country as a tank commander in the U.S. Army from 1960 1967. He married Shirley Sharon Luginbyhl on March 3, 1962 in Denton, TX. Shirley was also a graduate of North Texas State, and together, they had three children. Both Ken and Shirley remained affiliated with the University of North Texas through the years and, in 1997, endowed the Kenneth W. and Shirley Murphy Scholarship in Entrepreneurship. In 1999, they provided funding for the College of Business to establish the Murphy Enterprise Center to foster relationships between small and medium-sized businesses and the university faculty and students. Ken always had a deep seated love of horse racing, and for a number of years, he ran horses under Ken Murphy Thoroughbreds, Ltd. From 2001 2003, Ken was recognized as the owner with the most wins at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie. Ken was also passionate about genealogy and tracing his Murphy line back to Ireland, This was an interest he shared with Shirley, his daughter, Michelle, and granddaughter, Becca. "Cemetery tromping" was a favorite pastime of theirs. Connecting with distant relatives and sharing information with them was one of the aspects of genealogy that Ken most enjoyed. Ken was preceded in death by his parents, both his first wife, Shirley (in 2001), his second wife, Gayle Phillip Olivares Murphy (in 2012) as well as his half - sisters, Patricia (Patsy) Murphy Hails and Caroline (Carol) Sue Pierce Morrison. At this time, the Murphy family would like to extend our appreciation to the phenomenal staff at The Villages of Lake Highlands as well as to Dr, Jawwad Yusuf and his wonderful cardiac team at Presbyterian Hospital for the incredible care that they provided for Ken. Thank you, too, to all of our dear friends and beloved family for the love, laughter, and support that youve showered us with since Kens vascular dementia diagnosis in June 2021. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to the American Heart Association or to the United Way in Kens name. Survivors: Three children, daughter, Michelle Murphy, son, Michael Shawn Murphy of San Bruno, CA, and daughter, Meredith "Merry" Murphy Gaskill and her husband, Sam, of Arlington; grandchildren, Christopher Voirin of Irving, Rebecca (Becca) Voirin of Hurst, Eve Gaskill of Olympia. WA, Kyra Gaskill of Arlington, and Duvessa (Dessa) Murphy of San Francisco, CA.; step daughter, Rebecca Olivares of Sherman, half sister, Helen Lelana (Lana) Pierce Hazard of Hallsville, ex wife, Annette Oakes of Dallas, TX as well as several cousins, nieces, and nephews and a number of long time beloved family friends. Colonial Funeral Home of Irving, (972) 579-1313 Internment at Oak Grove Memorial Gardens in Irving, TX Family Florist: City Florist: (214) 212-9829 Live Stream for Funeral Service https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/index.php?data=MTY4MTQ0MTE4MDI0NjEwNyZvbmVyb29tLWFkbWluJmNvcHlfbGluaw== There are no gallery images. Visitation Friday, April 14, 2023 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Colonnial Funeral Home of Irving 606 West Airport Freeway Irving, TX 75062 Funeral Service Saturday, April 15, 2023 1:00 PM Colonnial Funeral Home of Irving 606 West Airport Freeway Irving, TX 75062 Committal Service Saturday, April 15, 2023 Oak Grove Memorial Gardens 1413 E. Irving Blvd. Irving, TX 75060