Aberdeen Village was easy choice for new resident

When it came time for Eva Murphy to make a move from Wichita, the choice was easy.

“My family, my son and grandchildren, live up here. My other son lives in Little Rock. When the great-grandbaby came, I decided I needed to be involved in his proper upbringing,” she said jokingly. “It’s working out beautifully. I like my apartment. I’m on the garden level, so I can have a patio.”

With her grown grandchildren and a son nearby, she’s also enjoyed more frequent visits from family.

“Both granddaughters are in the Kansas City area,” she said. “We’re all within 15 minutes of each other. They can be here in no time. I get to see them quite a bit. And the great-granddaughter, she will tell you that she was two on Christmas Day and that her mother was born 31 years ago on Christmas Day. And my birthday is the 26th, so we start out the day before with Jesus’ birthday and carry the party on through the 26th.”

Before moving to the area, Eva lived at Wichita Presbyterian Manor. For 50 years, Eva and her husband, Bill, who passed away in 2011, called Wichita home, after moving there from Nebraska.

“We followed the jobs,” Eva said. “My husband was a pharmacist, and I was a school nurse. I’m thinking and praying for the school nurses now, worried about how to keep kids in school.”

While Wichita might have been home, life was on the road at Nebraska football games or in a travel trailer they used to enjoy the great outdoors.

“Bill was a Scout leader, and we did a lot of hiking,” Eva said. “I got interested, so we hiked the Colorado Trail in bits and pieces. We had a camper, so we were out of the mud and rain. It was fun. We camped for many, many years with friends in a lot of the country. We took the camper all over. When we retired, we put in a lawn sprinkler so we could take longer trips. We liked the camper because we always knew we had a place to stay.”

Their travels also took them overseas, including Europe and Morocco. At home, however, they liked to support their beloved Nebraska Huskers football team.

“We both graduated from Nebraska colleges, and we traveled with family to bowl games back when we were winning bowl games,” Eva said. “I think we hit the best years for Nebraska football.”

Since her move to Aberdeen Village last summer, Eva is making friends and enjoying life in her new home.

“Things are pretty much like they were in Wichita,” she said. “People are very friendly. I’ve made friends quickly, and the people who have been here longer are welcoming and accepting. It’s sad that we’re still in this COVID thing — I hope we can get back to playing bridge, Mexican train and rummy. We play bingo, though, and I’ve found that’s the fastest way to learn people’s names. When they shout out the winners, you get to learn them quicker.”

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