CITY LOOKS TO BRING WOMAN'S DREAM OF PUBLIC PARK TO LIFE.

Byline: Alicia Doyle Daily News Staff Writer

Patricia Murphy never lived in Simi Valley, but she wanted to leave something special behind for those who do.

In her last will and testament, she bequeathed a portion of her family's 60-acre ranch to the city of Simi Valley. The generous gift came with one request - that the land be turned into a public park called ``Pat's Park.''

``She wanted to do things for people - children, grown-ups, everybody,'' said Adrian Murphy, Patricia's brother. ``If you saw her will, you'd see she made all kinds of charitable donations. This is just one of many.''

Named after her grandfather, Patrick Finnigan, Patricia Murphy was born and raised in Massachusetts. She was one of six children, three girls and three boys. Murphy never married or had children, and died in 1993. She was 72.

In 1955, Patricia and her brothers and sisters purchased the Murphy Simi Valley Ranch, located east of Madera Road and north of Easy Street.

Originally 168 acres, the land was whittled down over the years to 60 acres when the freeway was built and development took over, Murphy said.

Encouraged by their father who was the commissioner of agriculture in Massachusetts, the Murphy children bought the land for agricultural purposes, Murphy said. Over the years, the land has been home to cattle and been used to grow barley, he said.

Though Patricia Murphy never lived in Simi Valley, she stayed with her niece here off and on for about 30 years, Adrian Murphy said.

Though the wish in her will is explicit, city officials now face a dilemma - the eight acres Patricia wanted developed isn't park material.

Officials discovered that the land was ``not conducive'' to building a park because of site conditions, access and pending commercial development, city officials said.

But the city still plans on attaining one of Patricia's last desires.

``We want to have something with her name on it,'' said Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton. ``We want to try and do something relatively significant that will have a lasting impact on the community.''

The Murphy family is requesting that the Superior Court approve selling Patricia's portion of the land for roughly $2.5 million. Simi Valley would use the money to build Pat's Park somewhere else in town, officials said.

The city and the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District are considering a joint agreement to manage Murphy's property, because the city alone does not manage parks, officials said.

The park district plans to make a decision Thursday night on the joint-powers agreement. City officials plan on making their decision during Monday night's City Council meeting.

``We want to honor her will,'' said Bonnie Carpenter, vice chairwoman on the park district's board of directors. ``I want to see something that certainly benefits the people of Simi Valley and honors Pat Murphy at the same time.''

Carpenter has come up with several ideas on where to develop Pat's Park - including using portions of land at Corriganville, Challenger and Rancho Tapo parks.

She said the district is happy to help meet Patricia Murphy's explicit wish.

``I'm so pleased that Pat Murphy, whom I've never met, would think to do such a thing,'' Carpenter said. ``She must have loved Simi Valley very much.''

At 24 Patricia Murphy joined the army as a nurse. She served in England and France during World War II and the Vietnam War, Adrian Murphy said. She later served as an army administrator, and was instrumental in establishing Mobile Army Station Hospitals.

During her travels, she learned how to speak German, French, Italian and Spanish.

In 1967, Patricia received the Secretary of the Army Award. She was the first female medical officer to receive the honor, her brother said.

After World War II, Patricia Murphy and a lieutenant colonel started a program to help those displaced from being sent back to Russia. She also took food to families in Europe who were impoverished after the war.

After Patricia Murphy retired in her mid-50s, she lived in Washington state.

Throughout her lifetime, Patricia Murphy was known for her humble generosity, her brother said.

``She had this setup where she did things for others and never even tell you,'' said Murphy. ``You'd always find out about it from other people.''