Adelia Murphy

Inez Adelia Murphy, 77, and a long-time resident of Bradley County, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 12th, 2025. She was a member of All Nations Church of God where she and her late husband, Joe Franklin Murphy, served the community for over 40 years, before she became homebound. She was also a kindergarten teacher at Valley View Elementary School for over 30 years and always went above and beyond, not only teaching, but also working to address any social service needs of her students. She was a strong Christian woman, led by her love and empathy for others, and she always went out of her way to help someone in need. She taught children’s Sunday School for many years and always cheerfully offered to take someone to church that didn’t have a ride. She loved spending time with her family, gardening, taking photos to preserve precious family memories, singing Christian hymns, reading books, and enjoying fried chicken and chocolate ice cream - those things would always put a big smile on her face. She exemplified the true heart of a servant while here on earth and we know she was welcomed with open arms to heaven, as the scripture says, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”-2 Timothy 4:7, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”-Matthew 25:23 and “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”- Matthew 11:28.

Mrs. Murphy was the daughter of the late Inez Sophia (Tillett) Goodrum and the late Claude Lee Goodrum. She was also preceded in death by her brothers, John Goodrum and Lee Goodrum, and her sister Lisa Lord. She is survived by her two daughters, Erin Rodgers and husband, Steven Rodgers, of Atlanta, GA and Megan Simpson and husband, Mitchell Simpson, of Cleveland; two sons, Andrew Murphy of Cleveland and Chris Murphy of Myrtle Beach, SC; six grandchildren, Kaylee Simpson, Joseph Simpson, Matthew Simpson and Ethan Simpson of Cleveland and Risdon Rodgers and Riley Rodgers of Atlanta, GA.

Funeral services will be conducted at Poole Funeral Home, 3000 Ralph Buckner Blvd. on Saturday, August 23rd. Visitation will begin at 1:30pm, followed by the ceremony at 3:00 pm. Interment will follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens.

The family would like to say a very special thank you to Wonderful Homes Assisted Living in Cleveland for being a true blessing to the family, offering a loving and caring “home away from home” for their mother.

In lieu of flowers, and in honor of Mrs. Murphy’s never-ending desire to help those in need, memorials may be made to the New Hope Pregnancy Care Center at www.newhopepcc.org.

We invite you to send a message of condolence and view the Murphy family guestbook at www.pfhcleveland.com/obituaries. The family encourages those who knew Mrs. Murphy to share special memories of stories they have of her on this website.