John Murphy, Who Moved From Melrose, Shares His Experience About Living at Brooksby Village

By Robert Doherty
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Brooksby is filled with hundreds of people—accomplished, interesting, involved. Each of these unique individuals brings their experience and passions, resulting in the inspiring, dynamic communityBrooksby is today. Here’s your chance to meet one of these people.

From where did you move and how long had you lived there?

Janice, my wife, and I moved from Melrose and we lived there for 35 years.

What did you do there?

I owned a business, manufacturing detergents and disinfectants; for me, Melrose was a very comfortable and convenient community. I was just a few miles from my manufacturing plant and the schools were great.

Having lived in Melrose for so long, did that make it hard to move to Brooksby?

Not really. The house I lived in was a beautiful Victorian, but it required constant maintenance and repair. I loved to do things myself, but it started to become a burden.

To come to Brooksby was invigorating and uplifting. I felt such a sense of exhilaration to be free of the necessary burdens of home ownership. To find such a splendid atmosphere with such great people, we’re delighted. It’s a welcomed change. We took a chance and we are delighted we did.

When you first heard of Brooksby, did you ever feel that it was too expensive?

Considering the expense associated with the home we owned in Melrose, the taxes were significant, and it was expensive to heat. We are really spending the same amount of money and achieving a significant amount of freedom and relief from the labor that I had to provide.

What are your hobbies and interests?

My interests are centered around music and entertainment. I had a primary role as the villian in a recent Brooksby play we did here. I had never done anything like that before; it was marvelous.