WEBVTT - As My Father Before Me

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<v Speaker 1>Wind Down with Janet Kramer and I'm Heeart Radio podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to introduce you to On the Job and

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<v Speaker 1>host Avery Thompson. Avery shares stories of people making changes

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<v Speaker 1>in their professional and personal lives. Whether it's a successful

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<v Speaker 1>athlete transitioning into a new career off the field, a

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<v Speaker 1>fly fishing tour guide trying to introduce a new segment

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<v Speaker 1>of folks to the joys of the outdoors, or a

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<v Speaker 1>stadium beer and hot dog hawker who doubles as a

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<v Speaker 1>CEO of a red hot startup. We'll find out what

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<v Speaker 1>drives them and what lies ahead. These are heartfelt stories

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<v Speaker 1>of people finding their lives. Work on the Job is

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<v Speaker 1>brought to you by Express Employment Professionals. This week, Avery

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<v Speaker 1>talks to a fifth generation funeral director about what's next

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<v Speaker 1>for his business.

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<v Speaker 2>Welcome to On the Job. On today's episode, we're headed

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<v Speaker 2>to Western PA to speak with Brian Murphy, who's a

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<v Speaker 2>fifth generation small business owner and now with his kids

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<v Speaker 2>nearing adulthood. The question is will there be a sixth

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<v Speaker 2>when you're a kid? If you're lucky, death is that's

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<v Speaker 2>a distant thing, something you rarely have to deal with.

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<v Speaker 2>But for Brian Murphy, being the son of a funeral

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<v Speaker 2>home director, meant that death was all around him, or

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<v Speaker 2>more accurately, right in his backyard.

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<v Speaker 3>And we lived behind the funeral home. So as far

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<v Speaker 3>as growing up next to the funeral home, I have

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<v Speaker 3>very vivid memories of my dad going back and forth

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<v Speaker 3>all the time, dinner's being interrupted. It was really hectic.

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<v Speaker 4>Did the funeral home scare you as a kid or no?

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<v Speaker 3>No, I say it never really scared me. It maybe

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<v Speaker 3>intrigued me first short period of time. But I think

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<v Speaker 3>because in our house where we lived, on the first

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<v Speaker 3>floor was the meeting room, so it was filled with

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<v Speaker 3>caskets every day walking home from school, coming in, that's

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<v Speaker 3>the first thing you see. You kind of get used

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<v Speaker 3>to it, and it's like second nature almost.

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<v Speaker 2>It might sound surprising that a young kid would be

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<v Speaker 2>so blase about death, but as Brian sees it, that's

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<v Speaker 2>just part of being a Murphy because for about as

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<v Speaker 2>long as his ancestors have been in these parts, they've

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<v Speaker 2>been in the funeral business.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, like I said, it started with William Andrew Hartzell.

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<v Speaker 3>Then it moved to Fred C. Murphy, who was my

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<v Speaker 3>great grandfather, and then William A. H. Murphy who was

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<v Speaker 3>my grandfather, William F. Murphy who was my father, and

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<v Speaker 3>then there's me.

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<v Speaker 2>According to a study by Cornell University, only forty percent

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<v Speaker 2>of American owned businesses are passed down to the next generation,

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<v Speaker 2>and only thirteen percent make it to the third and

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<v Speaker 2>a measly three percent reached the fourth generation. So what

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<v Speaker 2>the Murphy family has managed to do for five generations

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<v Speaker 2>in Rochester is quite the feat. When you were a kid,

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<v Speaker 2>were you proud of what your dad did?

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<v Speaker 1>Oh?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I was definitely proud.

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<v Speaker 2>He could also see that running such a business didn't

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<v Speaker 2>come easy.

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<v Speaker 3>I always, you know, wondered why we couldn't go on

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<v Speaker 3>vacations like every other family, or you know, why my

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<v Speaker 3>dad wasn't at my sporting events or different activities. It

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<v Speaker 3>was because he thought he was the only one available

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<v Speaker 3>to be here, and he just surrounded himself with the

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<v Speaker 3>funeral home and everything else kind of came in second fiddle.

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<v Speaker 4>Did you at any point feel almost trapped or the

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<v Speaker 4>fact that if you didn't want to go into the

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<v Speaker 4>family business, like you'd be letting him or your grandparents

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<v Speaker 4>down or great grandparents.

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<v Speaker 3>More so my grandparents. I feel like I'd be letting

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<v Speaker 3>them down. My Grandpa and I were thick as thieves,

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<v Speaker 3>and as close as we were, that's how close my

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<v Speaker 3>father and I weren't.

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<v Speaker 2>But in fairness to Brian's dad, William Murphy, Brian admits

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<v Speaker 2>that he wasn't in any condition back then to be

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<v Speaker 2>entrusted with such responsibility.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah. I had my first drink when I was thirteen.

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<v Speaker 3>It just snowballed. By the time I was a senior

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<v Speaker 3>in high school, I was drinking, you know, probably four

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<v Speaker 3>or five nights a week.

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<v Speaker 2>Fortunately, though, soon after getting married, Brian realized the path

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<v Speaker 2>that he was on would only end in tragedy, and

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<v Speaker 2>that's something needed to give now.

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<v Speaker 3>I just decided it was time to get it's sober.

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<v Speaker 3>I entered rehab. I was supposed to be in there

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<v Speaker 3>for thirty days. They let me out after sixteen. Trying

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<v Speaker 3>to prove myself and staying sober and staying straight. Now

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<v Speaker 3>by that time I was thirty six or thirty seven,

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<v Speaker 3>so I had a pretty late start, but I was

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<v Speaker 3>still starting. I enrolled in the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary

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<v Speaker 3>Science when I was thirty seven and graduated right after

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<v Speaker 3>my fortieth birthday.

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<v Speaker 4>Well done, nice, thank.

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<v Speaker 2>You, Brian. Has made sure that his kids know he

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<v Speaker 2>supports whatever it is they choose to do with their lives,

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<v Speaker 2>but regardless of where their roads might lead them. Brian

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<v Speaker 2>also felt a need to sit his kids down and

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<v Speaker 2>have that old Murphy talk.

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<v Speaker 3>And even though I knew, you know, Parkernella probably weren't

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<v Speaker 3>going to come this path, I at least wanted them

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<v Speaker 3>to know that I wanted them to and the door

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<v Speaker 3>was open.

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<v Speaker 4>They said no.

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<v Speaker 3>My son kind of chuckled because we both knew where

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<v Speaker 3>that was going. My daughter, on the other hand, lately,

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<v Speaker 3>within the last probably probably two months, has shown more

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<v Speaker 3>interest than she ever has. So there's a heartbeat.

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<v Speaker 2>For on the job. I'm Averrey Thompson.

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