Monica Jean (Holahan) Murphy

Monica Jean (Holahan) Murphy, 63, died July 26th, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio surrounded by the love of her family, and with her loving husband Matt holding her hand.

Monica was born on April 10, 1960 in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. She attended St Francis De Sales parochial school for grades 1-8, and Lake Geneva Badger High School. Monica received her bachelor’s degree in communications and journalism from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI.

Monica relocated with her husband Matt to the east coast for a short time in 1999 before locating to Dublin, Ohio, where they have resided for the last 22 years.

Monica worked for 2 national educational measurement companies, where she was a director - training and supervising the teams that score standardized tests for many states across the USA.  She also helped write and assess essay test questions that are currently used in many states today.  Her true passion though was the arts. She enjoyed helping the local arts community and spiritual leaders as a consultant on business practices and as an advisor across many parts of their businesses and practices. 

Monica loved to sing, and in fact performed in many productions in high school and college.  She also sang at many of the weddings in Lake Geneva during her years there, often accompanied by her husband Matt, who shares her passion for music. She also enjoyed being a patron of the arts both in Wisconsin and in Ohio.  Monica loved to travel, particularly when that travel was near an ocean or a beautiful body of water.

Monica’s other true passion was being a godmother and aunt. She loved spending time with her nieces and godchildren and drew great pleasure from watching them all grow to be beautiful, amazing women.

Monica is survived by her husband, Matthew Murphy (Dublin, OH), her mother, Aileen Holahan (Lake Geneva, WI), her 3 brothers; Joseph Holahan (Lake Geneva, WI), Andrew Holahan (Carol Laskowski) (Waukesha, WI) and Michael Holahan (Shauna) (Middleton, WI). Nieces Catherine (Kat), Ashley and Bridget, and many aunts, uncles and cousins across the United States. She is preceded in death by her father David F Holahan, and her sister Kathleen Holahan.

There will be 2 services for Monica:

A visitation will be held on Friday August 25th, 2023, from 4:00pm till 7:00pm in the main chapel of Derrick Funeral Home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  A funeral mass will be held on Saturday August 26th, 2023, at 10:30am at St. Benedicts Catholic Church in Fontana, Wisconsin.  Burial will be held immediately after the service at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Cemetery east of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made for medical and funeral expenses to https://gofund.me/731564f3

A Celebration of Life will be held in Dublin Ohio, at a future date.

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Derrick Funeral Home is more than honored to be assisting the Murphy Family. 

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