Wilfred E. McMurphy

Wilfred E. McMurphy, beloved father, grandfather, and great-grandfather went home to his Lord and Savior on Sunday, June 28, 2026. He was born on August 3, 1934 to the late J. Paul and Ruth McMurphy in Lamont, Oklahoma. Wilfred was raised in Lamont, Oklahoma with his four sisters: Barbara, Neva, Leola, and Donna. He participated in FFA and Football during his high school years. In 1952, he graduated from Lamont High School and attended Oklahoma State University and was a member of First Christian Church in Stillwater, Farm House Fraternity, and ROTC. Wilfred graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Agronomy from Oklahoma State University in 1956. He then spent 2 years as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. After his Army service, he returned to Oklahoma State University to get his Master’s degree in Agronomy (1959), then went to Kansas State University to get his Ph.D. in Range and Pasture Management (1963),

On June 20, 1959, he married Elaine Lasater at First United Methodist Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma. They moved to Manhattan, Kansas, in 1959, so he could work and complete his Ph.D. In 1963, they moved to Newell, South Dakota for a job with the Agronomy Department of South Dakota State College. They returned to Stillwater, OK in 1964, where Wilfred was a Professor at Oklahoma State University, teaching Pasture and Range Management, until he retired in 1991. He received multiple teaching awards during his career as an educator.

Wilfred and Elaine had two children: daughter Heather West and husband Bryan, a son Carl McMurphy and wife Sandra. He had six grandchildren: Tagen McMurphy and wife Kealy, Samantha Hensley and husband Cole, Dillon McMurphy, Taylor West and wife Emily, Jessica Pelican and husband Tyler, and Blake Dammon and wife Cyndi. He had 5 great-grandchildren: Noah McMurphy, Winston and Bennett West, Wesley Snowder, and Ella Kate Dammon. He and Elaine were happily married for 55 years, until her death in 2014.

Wilfred loved spending time with his family and friends, gardening, riding his bicycle and motorcycle, and creating things for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He will be remembered for his smiles and being a loving father, papa, brother, and friend to all that he met. His family finds comfort in knowing he is in Heaven with his Lord, Jesus Christ.

In addition to his parents, Willfred is proceeded in his death by two of his sisters, Barabra Drain and her husband Ed, Neva Olson and her husband Dick, and his brother-in-law, Don Landis.

In addition to his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, Wilfred is survived by the following family members: his sister, Leola Foster and her husband Bill, his sister, Donna Landis, and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family extends its sincere gratitude to everyone at Legacy Village of Stillwater and Companion Hospice for their love and care of Wilfred. Your kindness meant more than words can express.

We invite all who knew and loved Wilfred to join us in celebrating his life. Visitation will be from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, July 5, 2026, at Dighton-Marler Funeral Home, Stillwater. Funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, July 6, 2026, at the Lost Creek United Methodist Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, and livestreamed at Legacy Village Chapel in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Pastor Michael Carpenter officiating. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Garden, Stillwater, Oklahoma.

In lieu of flowers, you may donate to Oklahoma Medical Foundation in Wilfred’s memory.