Leonard Leroy Murphy was born on July 12, 1929 on the Murphy family farm north of Decatur to Leo Martin Murphy and Leola Mae Huffman Murphy. Leonard spent his early formative years growing up on the farm west of Decatur and obtained his education through the eighth grade attending local country schools. His nickname during those early years was "Sonny". His father, Leo farmed with horses and so the farm work was labor intensive and Leo enjoyed his son helping him on the family farm. Leonard had a brother, Maurice Dale Murphy who passed away before Leonard was born. He also had three sisters: Maxine Joan Murphy, an older sister who married Dale Bartell and lived in California; Mary Lou Murphy who married Darrell Andersen and lived in Decatur, Nebraska; and Evarine Ann Murphy who married Glenn Brewer and lived in Logan, Iowa.

Leonard Murphy attended high school in Decatur, Nebraska where he excelled in sports playing, football and track. He was a fast runner and threw the shot put in track. He played half back in football. He picked up the nickname "Murph" in high school and it stuck with him his whole life. Leonard graduated from Decatur High School in 1947 and then joined the Army in 1947. He served two years in the Army attaining the rank of Sergeant. On December 5, 1948 he married Elizabeth Josephine "Betty Jo" Hanson in the Methodist Church in Decatur, Nebraska. They on a farm near his father until in 1953 where Leonard farmed. He decided that he did not wish to become a farmer and purchased a truck and began a trucking business hauling hay, farm grain and other products. Leonard and Betty moved to Decatur in 1953. Leonard and Betty Murphy had four sons and a daughter: Larry, Gary, Kelly, Jeff and Joni Murphy. He played softball on some great town teams while he lived in Decatur and enjoyed bowling where he excelled. He was on television on the bowling show in Sioux City twice once facing another Decatur bowler in the finals. In 1962 Leonard divorced Betty and he moved to Omaha. He worked construction and at a factory in Omaha.

His then began a new trucking company purchasing three large rock trucks and he worked construction on the interstate in central Nebraska. He took a job in Arkansas hauling rock where he met Bobbi Dlene Tilley. Leonard Murphy and Bobbie Tilley were married on October 24, 1963 in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1964 he went to work at the Fort Calhoun Stone rock quarry located in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska where he spent the remainder of his working career operating heavy equipment. He retired in the 1980s to Big Flat, Arkansas where he and Bobby lived on her parent’s family farm helping her parents with farming. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, watching football, casinos and the horse track. Bobbie Dlene Tilley Murphy passed away on March 17, 2006 in Batesville, Baxter County, Arkansas.