STAN MURPHY – AN EVERYDAY HERO STORY

One example from the many stories.

Written by: Judge Jack F. Smith, Retired Colorado District Judge

In August of 2004, Nancy and I received a frantic phone call from her mother, Ava Diggle, in Sebring, Florida. Hurricane Frances had devastated Florida’s east coast and Sebring Hills was right in the path of the hurricane’s landfall. Ava and her husband were staying in a Red Cross shelter and their double-wide was almost gone. That night, our adult daughter, Laura, and I were able to fly to Orlando, rented the last car available at Hertz and drove down to Sebring.
The scene in Sebring Hills was almost total devastation. We were escorted to the Diggle’s home by the National Guard, and were able to reunite with them. After a fitful night with military spotlights and emergency sirens we were able to view the destruction in the light of day.
On instinct, before leaving Denver, I had called my brother, Jerry, in Jacksonville. He told me his brother-in-law, Stan, knew a contractor in that area, and asked Stan to help. The following day Stan’s friend’s crew was able to stabilize the double-wide and render it habitable in the opiniion of the National Guard. At Stan’s continued urging, the crew was able to replace damaged siding and windows within a month, and when power was finally restored their home was in good repair. No one ever even mentioned cost to Nancy’s mother and her husband.
Stan heard our cry and acted immediately to help a couple he didn’t know, and to press on until the job was finished. Jerry simply told us, “Stan gets things done.” At this moment, Ava and Robert Diggle, who both passed some years ago, are in Heaven meeting Stan face to face for the first time, and thanking him for his amazing kindness to them in Sebring.

God bless you, Stan, and thank you!