Angela Perea Murphy grew up in foster care in Concho, Arizona, and graduated from St. John's High School nearby. When she turned 18, she aged out of the foster care system and couldn't stay in Concho. "I thought I could stay there forever, because that's what I wanted to do," she said. "I wasn't particularly crazy about school." But Angela's foster parents had already taken in other kids, so she had to leave. Angela’s high school counselor helped her enroll at Phoenix College (PC). "I came down to live with my foster father's brother and his wife," she said.
Angela started attending classes at PC in 1967. "I didn't know what I wanted to study. I was in limbo, because I didn't want to go to school, period," she said. "But then, in English class, the teacher asked to see me after class. I had gotten an A plus on a paper, so she said, 'I think you need to go into journalism.'" Angela used to write when she was a little girl, not in a diary, but on pieces of paper she kept organized in a file. She couldn't imagine herself as a journalist; she barely spoke to anyone. Still, her instructor asked her interview another professor. "I didn't know the man, and I stammered through the whole thing. It terrified me, but it did pique my interest." She majored in journalism.
Love at First Sight
Pat Murphy came to Phoenix College in 1967 after serving five years in the Navy, including time in Vietnam. One day in April, he walked into a biology class as Angela walked out. They passed each other in the doorway. "I saw her," Pat said, "and I went to work that afternoon at Grunow Memorial Medical Clinic and told the three gals working there, 'I saw the gal I'm going to marry today.'" When they asked who she was, Pat replied, "I haven't met her yet, but I'm gonna marry her."
A couple of weeks later, Pat spotted Angela in the library with their mutual friend Connie. He walked over and complimented her smile. "I thought, 'Oh, Lord,'" Angela recalled. "So I just ignored him." Angela had been nursing a broken heart—a high school boyfriend had recently called to say he was married with a child. "I was not happy with men at that time," she said. But Pat was persistent. When Angela returned from a weekend in Concho, he met her at the bus stop. "I thought maybe if I go on a date with him, he'll leave me alone." Pat took Angela to the tennis courts at North High School. "He kissed me," Angela said. "The kiss kind of interested me." From that day on, Pat was there. "Every time I stepped out of a class, he was standing there, waiting to walk me to my next class," Angela said.
A Summer Apart and A Life Together
In May of that year, Angela went home to Concho. She and Pat spent the summer apart but wrote to each other every day. They still have all the letters. "My foster father would read them and say, 'Yeah, I like this Murph.' My sister-in-law said, 'I bet you can marry this guy.' Angela replied, 'I will not marry him.'" They married in August 1967 with a justice of the peace officiating, and two years later, a priest at St. Agnes Church in Phoenix agreed to marry them in the Catholic Church.
They lived in Phoenix for 33 years, raised three children, and Pat built a successful career as a general contractor. At one point, he was managing 17 Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs). In 2000, Pat told Angela, "It's time to take you home." They moved back to Concho, across the street from where Angela grew up, and have lived there for 25 years.
Give 'Em a Break Foundation
Shortly after moving to Concho, Angela noticed a family next door struggling after their electricity and propane had been shut off in winter. "I told Pat, 'Why can't somebody just give them a break?'" she said. Angela’s question prompted them to become that "somebody" and they founded the Give' Em a Break Foundation to help working people facing unexpected hardships. "There was a real need to help people who are employed, working full time, and all of a sudden, something unexpected comes along," Pat said. "Most of the people we help are single women with children making minimum wage." They helped a single mom after her car broke down.
The foundation works directly with mechanics, landlords, and utility companies to pay for car repairs, rent, and utilities for working families facing emergencies. They serve families throughout Arizona and help each family only once, providing immediate relief during a crisis. "There's plenty of help out there for people that don't work," Angela said. "But people who are trying, working to make a living, and then have something bad happen to them, those are the people we like to help." Since 2023, their daughter, Ginny, has served as the foundation's Chief Operating Officer and manages the foundation alongside her parents and two siblings.
Back in Concho, Angela continued to write and recently co-authored Hispanics in Concho with Vanessa Fonseca-Chávez. Published in August 2025, the book showcases Concho life from the early 1910s through the 1970s, featuring over 150 photographs from private collections and from Russell Lee, available at the Library of Congress. Hispanics in Concho is available for check-out in PC's Fannin Library.
After 59 years together, Pat and Angela's love story continues through their devotion to each other and their commitment to struggling neighbors. They wouldn't have met if they hadn't attended Phoenix College. "I just knew," Pat said of seeing Angela on campus that day. "I think it was divine intervention," Angela added. "I really do."