Nancy L. Murphy

May 31, 1947 — February 6, 2021

Nancy L. (Layton) Murphy, age 73, passed away on Saturday, February 6, 2021 in the Ruth McLain Hospice Home in Braintree, Massachusetts. Born on Staten Island, New York on May 31, 1947, she was the daughter of the late Frederick and Charlotte (Spicer) Layton. She was raised in Sharon, Massachusetts, where she graduated from Sharon High School with the Class of 1965. Following her graduation, Nancy continued her education at Keuka College in New York, earning her bachelor's degree in social work with the Class of 1969.

Nancy spent many years as an administrative assistant, working for the Harvard and Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and later after making her home in Weston, Massachusetts, at the Japanese School in Lincoln. Nancy returned to her own education earning a Master of Business Administration degree from the Simmons Graduate School of Management in 1989. More recently, she took a position with a small publishing firm in Sudbury, working as a college textbook editor. Nancy returned to her hometown of Sharon this past August, to be closer to her family.

Nancy was a longtime member of Toastmasters International and earned numerous awards for leadership and achievement. As a woman who loved the natural beauty of the world, she remained environmentally aware throughout her life. As a long-time member of the Weston Community Gardens, she contributed to her own local eco-system by maintaining her vegetable and flower gardens. Nancy was an avid swimmer and reader, and, as the keeper of her family’s records, she researched and documented her family's history and genealogy.

Devoted daughter of the late Frederick Sherman and Charlotte (Spicer) Layton.

Loving sister of Joanne S. Adams of Durham, New Hampshire, Judith F. Mohan and her husband, William, of Norton, Marcia L. Capobianco and her husband, Raymond, of Dedham, Sherman G. Layton and his wife, Susan, of Norton, Christopher J. Layton and his wife, Jeanne, of The Villages, Florida, Cynthia A. Layton and her husband, Harris Fishman, of Sharon, Kathi Layton of Brockton, Gwendolyn J. Dugas and her husband, David, of Mashpee, and the late Margaret M. Layton.

She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.

As a result of the ongoing and ever developing health crisis in the world and with genuine concern for the people whom they love, Nancy's family has decided that her funeral services will be private, with interment taking place in Rock Ridge Cemetery in Sharon.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to either Cancer Research Institute, 29 Broadway, Floor 4, New York, NY 10006-3111 https://cancerresearch.org or

The Trustees of Reservations, 200 High Street, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02110 https://thetrustees.org/

Arrangements by James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home, Walpole.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Nancy L. Murphy, please visit our flower store.

Send a Card

Nancy L. Murphy

May 31, 1947 — February 6, 2021

Guestbook