Marla Murphy of Livonia, MI died of cancer peacefully at her home on Sunday at the age of 71. She faced this journey with immense courage and grace and was inspiration to all those around her. Marla is survived by her sister Claudette, son Paul, daughter-in-law Jun, grandchildren, Jordan and Emma, and her loving companion of over two decades, Alexander Bejczy.

Marla was born in Detroit and earned two masters degrees in education from Eastern Michigan University. After a long and successful career as an elementary school teacher in the Wayne Westland School District, she put her extensive experience to work traveling around the state performing over 250 training workshops for other teachers. Her inspiring work earned praises from fellow teachers including, "Marla is the most effective conference speaker I have ever had the pleasure of learning from."

Marla served as a board member with the National Bone Marrow Transplant Link. She appeared in a documentary movie called "The New Normal" which highlighted her story as a bone marrow transplant recipient. The movie went on to win a Michigan Emmy and served as inspiration for countless other cancer survivors.

Visitation will be held at Santeiu & Son Funeral Home in Garden City on Sunday October 20th from 1pm-7pm. Funeral Mass will be held on Monday at St. Edith's Catholic Church in Livonia at 10:30am. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Bone Marrow Transplant Link or the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.