MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Joan Sue Baldwin (Coco) Murphy, age 87, of Minneapolis passed away May 1st, 2026, after a long illness.
She is survived by her children, Kelly Whitaker (John) and Lynn Murphy Abbott; three grandchildren, Isaac (Lizzie) and Dylan Whitaker, and Grace Abbott (Ismail Ibrahim).
Coco was born in Great Bend, Kan., the youngest of five children, and raised on a working farm. In Great Bend, she won “Best Dressed Cowgirl” on her horse Trigger, made many friends at Great Bend High School, was a member of “Job’s Daughters,” played on the travelling tennis team, worked as a lifeguard, and was even voted Miss Great Bend. Upon graduating, Coco matriculated at the University of Kansas where she majored in Education and was President of the Alpha Phi sorority.
She met Terry Murphy, her husband of 53 years, at a dance at Kansas State University. They were married in 1961, after Terry returned from military service in Korea and Coco graduated from KU. Coco taught elementary school until the birth of their first child in 1965. Terry’s work as a journalist brought them to Kansas, Iowa, and Ohio, before they settled in Minneapolis in 1977. Along the way, Coco built her career as a Realtor, Property Manager and a Senior Internal Auditor with the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, from which she retired in 2004. Coco loved dogs and those who know her will remember Check, Herman, Razzle, Duncan, Mick, Luke, and Libby, her beloved companions. Coco was an avid home decorator, seamstress, entertainer, and chef.
Coco was the President of the Tangletown Neighborhood Association and helped launch the Tangletown 4th of July parade and obtained matching funds for area home upgrades. Her delightful gardens were favorites on the Tangletown Gardens Tour and she won many awards from the City of Minneapolis for her “blooming boulevard” on West 50th Street. She called herself “Polly Pigskin” for her love of football and was an avid Vikings and Twins Fan, but nothing got between her and her beloved KU Jayhawks Basketball.
Coco was preceded in death by her husband Terry; her parents Orville and Ruth Baldwin; and her siblings, John, Jack, Jim and Janette.
A memorial service will be on Monday May 18th at 1 p.m. at the Memorial Chapel in Lakewood Cemetery 3600 Hennepin Ave South in Minneapolis, Minn. Interment to follow at the Lakewood Community Mausoleum. A reception will follow internment. The Joan Baldwin Murphy Fund has been established with the Kansas University Endowment Association P.O. Box 928 Lawrence, Kansas 66044 orwww.kuendowment.org.
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, May 9, 2026
