Overview

• Murphy died on September 21 at age 60 after a three‑year battle with Bulbar ALS, which had left her unable to speak for about a year.
• She wrote the obituary about six months before her death, opening with “Well, if you are reading this obituary, it looks like I’m dead,” and detailing the loss of speech and eating difficulties with humor.
• She preplanned a celebratory sendoff, picking her casket and music and envisioning a dance‑party funeral, with mourners sharing “Live Like Linda” bracelets and honoring her wish to hand out scratch tickets.
• Her brain and spinal cord were donated for ALS research, and she asked that people consider donations to Compassionate Care ALS instead of sending flowers.
• The obituary spread nationally and internationally, with daughter Justine Hastings sharing her story, including Murphy’s early self‑diagnosis at Massachusetts General Hospital and her wry “throuple” joke about nightly BiPAP use.