Pat and Eileen Murphy met while closing up a patient in a hospital surgery room in Los Angeles, CA. She was a Scrub Nurse, he was a Physician’s Assistant.
    “I thought he was so good looking,” Eileen recalls, “then he took off his hat and I saw he had no hair,” she laughed. “But it didn’t make any difference to me, I fell in love with him anyway.”
     That encounter would lead to a love story lasting over 53 years no hair and all, but long before that romance began the Murphys were both involved in a love affair of another kind. A head-over-heels infatuation with a little-known South Orange County town called San Clemente.
    Pat Murphy was first introduced to the Village by the Sea when he and his dad stopped off at the Pier to catch a few waves on their way to Mexico.
    “My dad was a great body surfer,” Pat revealed. “We rode the waves on the north side of the Pier before that spot was relegated to the surfboard surfers. The break there was and still is perfect for body surfing.”
     After that first visit with his dad, Pat continued coming to the Pier catching waves all through high school and college. All the while becoming familiar with every nook, cranny and lot in town.
     During that same time, Eileen and her family were summering on the beaches in town.
“We would stay in Laguna Beach and come to San Clemente to fish and body surf,” she said. “I used to love fishing off the pier and on the barge anchored just beyond Seal Rock, catching halibut, croakers and bass. I was and still am a fishing nut today,” she joked.
    It came as no surprise when in 1951 the couple chose their favorite town and the chapel of the original Presbyterian Church on Avenida de Estrella for their wedding.
    “My dad knew the owners of the Casa Romantica and arranged for us to honeymoon there,” Pat explained. “It was during the Korean War, and some Marine Officers were staying there too,” he remarked.
    After the ceremony, the newly weds had planned to buy a lot near the Casa Romantica, but the one they wanted had been sold. They settled instead for a first home in Granada Hills until 1955, when they finally purchased lot #319 on Encino Lane. When Eileen stood on the lot for the first time she wondered why they were building a house so far away from everything.
    At this point, Pat was a fireman for the City of Los Angeles and he and his firemen buddies began building the Murphy’s’ future home on their days off.
     “It was an odd shaped lot,” Pat stated. “We had to design the house in two trapezoids so it would fit.”
     “We couldn’t have done it without our friends,” Eileen chimed in. “We were lucky to have had their help.”
     Lot #319 had a view down the canyon to the ocean in those early years, and Pat’s buddies jokingly called the beach there “Murphy’s Beach,” and the reef out near the point “Murphy’s Reef.” They even had T-shirts imprinted with the name, for family and friends to wear.
     Eventually a road was cut through the canyon down to the water and Linda Lane Park was built. The locals named the beach “Second Spot,” but to Pat and Eileen’s family and friends it was and always will be “Murphy’s Beach.”
     The Murphys finally moved into their dream house in 1968. Because Eileen Murphy loved babies, their family eventually grew to include seven little Murphys, five boys, Pat Jr., Tim, Jamie, Mike, Dennis, and two girls Sherry and Shauna. Each time a baby grew up, Eileen yearned for another and Pat was fine with that. And as the Murphy children reached adulthood the clan continued expanding, and      Eileen’s “baby-fix” was satisfied with 16 grandchildren, nine boys, seven girls and one great-granddaughter.
Although a Registered Nurse by profession, Eileen and Pat agreed to make the financial sacrifices necessary for her to be a stay-at-home mom and homemaker. They both think it was the best decision they ever made. Eventually they bought the two lots alongside their house, giving the children a larger play area and making room for fruit trees and a vegetable garden. The couple still resides there today.
Like many moms of her generation, Eileen baked for her brood everyday. She soon became known in her neighborhood as the “Cookie Lady” and the kids on the block still stop in for her homemade goodies daily.
     “One child came by the other day, and I couldn’t help thinking he was getting pretty big to be dropping by for cookies,” Eileen laughed.
Following in Dad’s footsteps, three of the Murphy boys are firemen, one a sheriff and one a landscaper. Like mom, one daughter is an RN, the other a retired Ralph’s Market employee. The entire Murphy family lives in town and Pat revealed that they are all continually in and out of their house. As one would expect, the first place they head is the icebox and the pantry and Eileen jokingly remarked that she sometimes has to keep the pantry locked to prevent them from eating everything in sight.
     While the Murphy family was growing up, every spare minute was spent on the beach; body surfing, playing volleyball, sunbathing and sitting evenings around the firepit. And in 1969 Pat built the first beach volleyball court where the restrooms now stand north of Lifeguard Headquarters. At first the City fathers gave him a hard time about setting up the court, but they came around when he promised to take the net down every night so the sandsifters could clean the beach. Pat’s court was such a success, that when it was finally removed to make room for the restrooms, the City funded, built and continues to maintain the court that is there now.
     The City Council also took notice of Pat’s knowledge of the town and his ideas to better it. Many of his ideas were implemented, and although he was asked many times to join the Council he refused saying he was no Politician. He preferred pursuing the simple life he had come to town for.
     “This was a small town when we came,” Pat said, “maybe seven to ten thousand people.” “The City Hall was in the Old City Yard, there was one fire chief and one City inspector. Everybody knew everyone. The town had everything anyone could want, the best weather, the best beaches and the best waves.”
    Like many old-timers in town, the Murphys decry the town’s growth and crowds. They long for the days when it was just a small, unknown town at the furthest edge of Orange County. They still go to the beach regularly, but only on weekdays 2 to 6 pm, never on weekends. They meet their friends and play cribbage or cards on the sand, body surf and fish, but they sit under umbrellas now, protecting from, instead of soaking up the sun.
     “I tell my daughters and granddaughters to protect their skin from the sun, if they don’t want to end up wrinkled like me,” Eileen admonished with a giggle.
     In spite of the unwanted changes they have lived through, the Murphys still love living in San Clemente. Their love and love affair with the town has thrived in the sand, sea and air here. Their pursuit of and sacrifices for the simple life have truly paid off, and they both look forward to continually living and enjoying that life for many more years to come.