Murphy's life remembered
Sandoval speaks at memorial service

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

Garrison "Gary" Lee Murphy (1976 - 2007), is seen in this photograph taken by Margo Manaraze Wagner. [Courtesy Photo]

GALLUP — Garrison "Gary" Lee Murphy arrived in this world on Halloween in 1976. And for the 30 years of his life, his face, his mind, and his body wore the disability of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, like child hidden under a heavy costume.

Murphy's severe FAS characteristics prevented the rest of us from seeing the real person he could have been if alcohol hadn't shaped his life from the womb.

In those 30 years, a few people did take the time to see beyond Murphy's disabilities, his appearance, his anger, and his alcohol abuse. They may not have seen the person Murphy could have been, but they did discover a person who had an affinity for affectionate hugs, sunny smiles, goofy behavior, profound remarks, loyalty and love.

And it was that Gary Murphy who was celebrated and remembered during Saturday's memorial service at El Morro Theatre.

Murphy died on Feb. 12 in Phoenix, Ariz. from injuries he sustained after being hit by a vehicle in Gallup on Feb. 6. According to Gallup Police, Murphy attempted to cross U.S. 491 against a red light during rush hour traffic.</sub>Bittersweet memoriesA sizeable crowd filled much of the auditorium at El Morro, the vintage theatre where Murphy and Margo Manaraze Wagner, the former Gallup resident who befriended Murphy and collaborated with him on FAS awareness projects, premiered their film "Gary and The Angels." The service was filled with funny stories and bittersweet memories of Murphy, along with film clips, poems, prayers, and music.

Zonnie Gorman, who explained she first met Murphy at the premiere of "Gary and The Angels," led the service. Gorman and local trader Ellis Tanner, who said the opening prayer, have since become the board president and vice-president of Extol!, a charitable foundation established by Manaraze Wagner and her husband. The primary mission of Extol! is to educate the public that FAS is completely preventable if women refrain from drinking any alcohol during pregnancy.

Lt. Gov. Diane D. Denish sent a letter to be read at the service. "Gary's legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of everyone who ever met him, saw his film, heard his story or saw his billboards," Denish's letter concluded. "And it is my hope that we will all do our part to preserve that legacy and spread Gary's message that not one more child has to endure the kind of life he did. The choice is ours."

Lisa McNiven, of the Governor's Commission on Disability, and Kathleen Buri-Baca, an addiction specialist who works with at-risk teens, shared their memories of Murphy. They were joined by Dr. Jim Lagattuta and Dr. Bob Keenen, who both met Murphy as medical professionals, and Kathe Noe and Dr. Jan Arrowsmith, who struck up unlikely friendships with Murphy. Nine members of the Rehoboth High School Choir sang "Til We Meet Again," and "Down By the River To Pray," a song featured in "Gary and The Angels."

Manaraze Wagner did not make public statements during the service. Instead, her husband, Albuquerque attorney Kenneth Wagner, spoke emotionally for the couple, recalling both humorous and poignant stories about Murphy.

"He was a character," Wagner said. Once Murphy called to say he was going to "jump the train" in Gallup to visit them in Albuquerque. Wagner said he tried to explain to Murphy that freight trains in Gallup don't go to Albuquerque but rather go to Belen, N.M. and then south to El Paso, Texas.

"It has to follow the tracks, Gary," he recalled saying.

"He learned the hard way when he had to hoof it from El Paso," Wagner said.

The task of introducing the most dramatic speaker of the service fell to Wagner.

"Man dies when he wants, as he wants, of what he chooses," said Wagner in his introduction, quoting from the French playwright Jean Anouilh.Sad ironyAlthough he proved to be the most dramatic speaker, Patrick Sandoval was the only speaker not listed on the program. Sandoval, the chief of staff for the Navajo Nation, was the driver who hit Murphy. Murphy's death, he explained, was the most traumatic event in his life, next to the loss of his own father and mother.

Without offering lots of elaborating detail, Sandoval said a number of coincidental events, unique circumstances, and Manaraze Wagner's "kind and gentle invitation" brought him to the memorial service.

Sandoval said he was raised by his father to never use the word "hate." However, he said, he does use it to describe his strong feelings about alcohol and drugs.

"I hate alcohol and drugs," said Sandoval, who added that he's never tried alcohol or drugs, substances that he believes have caused huge problems on the Navajo Nation.

It was his brother, Sandoval said, that pointed out the sad irony of the tragedy: the accident brought together the lives of Sandoval, with his strong views about alcohol, and Murphy, a person who was a victim of alcohol abuse his entire life.

"The torch that Gary was carrying may have been passed on to me," he said. Sandoval said he would work to make the Navajo Nation "take a stronger look" at combating the effects of alcoholism.

"That's my commitment," he promised.

The memorial service concluded on the sidewalk outside the theatre, on one of the downtown Gallup streets Murphy used to roam. A couple of individuals brought 30 balloons a balloon for every year of Murphy's life and distributed them to some of those in the crowd. In the middle of Coal Avenue, with curious drivers looking on and a nearby freight train rumbling by, the balloons were released to the sky, and the crowd broke out in applause.