EL DORADO -- Theodosia Murphy Nolan -- one of the founding investors of what is now Murphy Oil Corp. -- died Saturday in El Dorado of complications after surgery.
In 1946, Nolan pooled her money along with that of her brother, Charles Murphy Jr. and her two sisters, Caroline Murphy Keller and Bertie Murphy Deming, to form C.H. Murphy & Co. , which later was incorporated into Murphy Oil Corp.
It was her spirit for giving, her passion for art and history, and her example of joyous living, however, that symbolized Theodosia Nolan's life.
"Gracious. Elegant. Charming. Witty. Engaging. She was just a wonderful human being," said nephew R. Madison Murphy, who is chairman of Murphy USA and the son of Murphy Oil Corp. founder Charles Murphy Jr. "She helped so many people in a quiet fashion. I think she was just the epitome of graciousness, just graciousness personified."
Theodosia Nolan, 96, was a supporter of the arts, health care and education not just in El Dorado, but the state and nation as well. She was instrumental in founding the South Arkansas Arts Center and was an early supporter of the South Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.
The reach of the numerous donations made by the William C. and Theodosia Murphy Nolan Foundation in 2013 ranged from the Life Touch Hospice and the South Arkansas Fights Aids organizations in El Dorado to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, and Wayne County Day School in Goldsboro, N.C.
It was her family -- for generations before her and for generations after -- that held the most powerful spot in her heart, friends and relatives said.
The oldest of four children born to Charles Murphy Sr. and Bertie Murphy, Theodosia Nolan was born in 1917 after her mother had suffered two stillbirths. The grateful parents named their daughter, Theodosia, Greek for "God's gift."
After her mother's death in 1975, Theodosia Nolan became the "matriarch of the family in the truest sense of the world," said her son, Bob Nolan, chairman of the board of Deltic Timber Corp. and managing member of Munoco Co., both Murphy family ventures.
"She had a position of unusual importance in everybody's life," Bob Nolan said. "Her time as a younger mother, her whole life was absolutely defined by the life of and service to her family. She was completely selfless.
"We are all unusually close and that has been reflected in the family business. It takes a commitment and strong sense of family to be successful and that all started with her," Bob Nolan added.
The mother of four, grandmother to 12 and great-grandmother to 29, never missed a birthday morning without calling to recite the birthday prayer to family members and was a constant, engaged presence in everyone's lives.
"She believed in the lost art of letter writing. She was always sending her grandchildren letters," Bob Nolan said. "These kids are all of the Internet generation, but they would write her back these long, handwritten letters. It was amazing."
And every Christmas was heralded with the arrival of Theodosia Nolan's "Christmas Pots," said niece Martha Murphy. Each creation would include homemade jelly of berries she handpicked, cane syrup "from a source she wouldn't divulge," homemade sausage, a personal gift, like a sweater or a book, that showed she truly knew the recipient, and a framed snapshot that illustrated a poignant episode in the family's heritage.
Theodosia Nolan had a gift for forging bonds, whether familial or friendship, that lasted a life time. That talent, Martha Murphy said, was because of her aunt's deep love and genuine interest in people.
"She looked people in the eye and she really listened and heard you. It was an extraordinary talent. She listened to children. I remember being itty-bitty. She would get down on your level, look in your face and really listened to what you had to say," Martha Murphy said. "As a consequence, those of us who grew up around her or were lucky enough to have a life with her, she was an enormous part of us forming a strong sense of ourselves because of the way she could focus on people as individuals."
Her son, Charles Murphy Nolan, said some people might say that his mother was a child of privilege.
"But she was really a child of the Depression. She was imbued by her parents with the basic values of humility and frugality. She never lost that," Charles Nolan said. "She focused on her family and really tried to give back to her community and the places that were important to her."
Theodosia Nolan was fiercely protective of preserving the family heritage -- whether in photographs or property. She spent several years and many hours of personal work restoring the Cherokee Plantation in Natchitoches, La.
The early French Creole plantation house -- which has been in the family for more than 150 years -- is open to the public only two days a year, but Theodosia has welcomed numerous dignitaries and celebrities, including the cast of the movie Steel Magnolias, which was filmed in Natchitoches.
"She not only remodeled the plantation, but she maintained it with the highest standards for future generations," said Tom Whitehead, a friend to Theodosia Nolan for several years and who also leads the annual tours and helps to coordinate private events at the home. "She was delightful and charming, very witty. She was one of the most pleasant people I have ever known. She would cringe at the use of the word 'legend' to describe her, but she really was."
And she was fearless.
She learned to fly when she was 16 years old and owned her own plane. The college she chose -- Gulf Park College for Women in Gulfport, Miss. -- was selected for the sole purpose that they would permit her to fly her plane to campus, said Charlie Nolan.
Her daughter, Tia Nolan Roddy, said her mother would often tell the story of the time she rode on the back of a motorcycle with her boyfriend to one of her flying lessons.
"Her flying coach was just furious," Roddy said. "He told her, 'If you ever ride that motorcycle again, I'm not going to let you fly.' She was the most wonderful role model I could ever have for me and for her grandchildren. She died the way she approached everything else in her life, with dignity and grace."
R. Madison Murphy said Theodosia Nolan will be deeply missed, but her legacy will never be forgotten.
"You just have to appreciate her 97 years of living extraordinarily well. I mean that in every sense of the word," he said. "She loved life, lived it well and gave to others. Frankly, it's inspirational."
State Desk on 05/25/2014