BLOOMFIELD HILLS — When a parishioner walked into St. Regis Parish in Bloomfield Hills, they were greeted by a smiling Irishman who knew their name and didn’t know how to be angry.

With his calm demeanor and sense of humility, brought about after a lifetime of health problems, Fr. Daniel Murphy lit up the room at St. Regis and was a calming voice at the parish he led for 20 years.

Fr. Murphy died March 11 at the age of 87. His funeral was March 18 at St. Regis, and he was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield.

“It was a joy working with Fr. Murphy; he was always so positive and upbeat,” said Mary Von Koss, a pastoral associate at St. Regis who worked with Fr. Murphy for 10 years. “He always was open to new ideas. During Communion, he would use my name, saying, ‘the Body of Christ, Mary.’ It was things like that which made him personable.”

Daniel Murphy was born in Detroit on Nov. 4, 1929. After finishing his studies at Sacred Heart Seminary in 1952, he graduated from St. John’s Provincial Seminary in Plymouth before being ordained by Cardinal Edward Mooney on June 2, 1956.

Fr. Murphy served as associate pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Port Huron, St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Pontiac, Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Detroit and St. Edith Parish in Detroit, before being assigned as the pastor of St. Timothy Parish in Trenton, from 1970-79.

In 1979, Fr. Murphy was assigned to St. Regis, where he stayed as pastor for 20 years.

“He really focused the parish on Christian service,” said parishioner Marisa Petrella. “There was a self-open shelter for the homeless, and he was one of the first pastors to get behind the effort. He started the St. Vincent de Paul clothing drive twice a year and took up a Thanksgiving food collection for St. Leo’s in Detroit.”

Petrella gave a eulogy for Fr. Murphy, highlighting his dedication to greeting everyone in the parish with a smile.

“I just remember how he kept the Sabbath a holy day, coming to every single Mass, even when he wasn’t the celebrant,” Petrella said. “After the Masses, he would visit his family on Sunday afternoons; he did that for his whole life.”

Petrella said Fr. Murphy was big on generosity, stressing how it was important for parishioners to “give God the first fruits” of one’s labor.

“As I reflect on his life after he died, I noticed so many people who became involved in the parish because of Fr. Murphy,” Petrella said. “He empowered the laypeople around him in the spirit of God to love and serve the Lord. He made you feel part of the community. Even when it was time to give to the CSA, he was able to convince people it wasn’t about giving to meet a certain goal so we get money back. But it was about giving to God. You know how amazing it is for a pastor to harness this kind of commitment and power.”

Fr. Raymond Sayers, who gave the homily at Fr. Murphy’s funeral, remember vacationing with his friend for 47 years. Fr. Sayers said Fr. Murphy had a curious mind, a calm demeanor and a love for Ireland.

“He was a ‘priest’s priest,’ full of hospitality,” Fr. Sayers said. “He never complained, always listened to people. He loved the ministry. He had a number of things that were really wrong with him physically; he had six operations, procedures on his hips. I think he got three new hips, two artificial knees, a new right shoulder. But I would see him pray every morning, giving thanks to God for what he had. He suffered a lot from physical ailments, but that’s how the Lord tempered him and made him so available to the people. That’s why people will miss him.”