Janet Sue Murphy, 67, of Sioux City died Saturday, August 30, 2025 at her residence following a battle with brain cancer. She spent her final days surrounded by family and friends. A memorial service will be held Thursday, September 4, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at Waterbury Funeral Service of Sioux City. Visitation will be 4-7:00 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.

Janet was born on April 8, 1958 in Sioux City, IA, the fifth of seven children brought into this world by her loving parents, Robert "Bob" and Frances "Tootie" Bray. They took her home to a comfortable house on West Fourth Street with a large tree in the backyard. As a young girl, she discovered an owl living in the tree that inspired a lifelong love of bird watching.

Janet fondly remembered trips to the nearby Westside Market to buy candy, laughing with her sisters, and the roasts her parents prepared every Sunday. Her family would gather around the dinner table to eat and share stories.

She married Darold "Dar" Plueger on June 12, 1976. They had two beautiful daughters, Sarah Fairbanks and Jessi Bergin, and raised them in a loving home in Riverside. Janet and Dar separated in 2003. Janet enjoyed baking, especially cookies for the holidays and cakes for birthdays. She loved cheering from the sideline of her grandkids' games and activities. Her daughters and grandchildren cherish memories of her giggling over family games of Farkle, Sorry, Skipo and Mancala. Janet loved to travel and see the world. She was always up for a trip to the casino with friends to try her luck.

She met Tom Murphy of Sioux City in 2004 and they married on Oct. 26, 2012 with her sisters Lisa Grant and Jean Plueger as witnesses. With Tom, Janet developed a talent for fishing. A skilled fisherwoman who could out catch anyone, she taught her tricks and tips to her grandchildren. Standing on an Okoboji dock with a pink rod in hand, Janet would show them how to cast, reel fish in, and then hand it to Tom to clean. Janet stocked the shelves and managed the Wonderbread outlet store on Center Street for 25 years until it closed. She then worked at Roosevelt and Leeds elementary schools as a paraprofessional educator.

Janet will be lovingly remembered by her husband, Tom Murphy; children, Sarah Fairbanks of Sioux City, Jessi and Nick Bergin of Bronson; step-children Becky and Matt Granstrom of Dakota Dunes South Dakota, and Bobby Murphy, Brooklyn, New York; sisters, Mary and Tim Kelley of Taylor, Arizona, and Lisa and Richard Grant of Sioux City; and grandchildren Rylee Fairbanks of Sioux City, Tayden Fairbanks of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Century Bergin and Willow Bergin of Bronson, Mason Granstrom of Dakota Dunes, and Reagan Granstrom of Vermillion, South Dakota.

She was preceded in death by her parents and siblings, Linda Fuller, John Bray, Rick Bray, and Jean Plueger.

Janet's family thanks Nicole and Sherri from St. Croix Hospice for their great care in her final days.