July 9, 1947 – October 29, 2025
It is with tremendous sadness that we acknowledge the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Bill Murphy.
Bill was a pioneer in our field—a true “clinician’s clinician,” who did groundbreaking work in bringing resources from counseling psychology and social work to the field of speech-language pathology. He was among the most influential clinicians in our field, highlighting new ways of addressing shame, being open about stuttering, and reducing bullying for children who stutter.
So many of the phrases and scenarios that we take for granted in therapy today come from Bill’s work, like “shame-busting,” “normalizing” and “deawfulizing” stuttering, helping children “become the experts” about their speech, helping children recognize that “stuttering is not their fault,” and more.
Even more importantly, Bill was a friend and mentor for many of us who specialize in stuttering. He cared deeply about people, shared his wisdom gently, and was always looking for new ways to help students and clinicians understand stuttering—and life itself.
As Nina and I discussed this blog in honor of Bill, she shared many of the same themes. She also remarked that she was fine that she missed the “guy times and texts” that flurried between our group, mostly because she knew it would stifle Bill’s sense of humor. He could always be counted on for a joke, and some of them were rather “sophisticated.” (In fact, just the week before he died, he texted a group of us with yet another tall tale about a fellow who stuttered who walked into a bar…)
Indeed, Bill’s stories are legendary…For an example, click here.
On a more serious note…STR readers will recognize Bill as the lead author of our Minimizing Bullying therapy program. This is just one example of his lifelong dedication to our field: for the past two years, Bill dedicated his royalties from the Minimizing Bullying sales to a stipend to help SLP students offset the costs of attending ASHA! Every time we talked, he had new ideas about how to explain stuttering to students, how to improve therapy for people who stutter, and how to live a happier life.
I have many, many fond memories of Bill—he and Bob Quesal and I were roommates for dozens of conferences over the years. One of the first was an ASHA Special Interest Division leadership conference in 1997 in Tucson, AZ. That was when Bill gave his first major presentation about reducing shame. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime moment for our field, and I am grateful to have been there to see it—and to be able to sit with Bill afterwards as he reviewed every word of his talk to make sure he got it right. (That was also the conference where our own Dr. Lee Reeves gave his first major presentation to our professional association about stuttering self-help. Those were indeed the groundbreaking days!)
Finally, on a personal note…losing Bill so soon after Bob Quesal has hit me particularly hard, and that’s one of the reasons that it has taken me so long to be able to write this brief memorial. Bob and Bill were staples in my life for more than 30 years, and I truly think about them both every single day. My life is richer for having known them both, and I am grateful for their friendship.
