{"id":129372,"date":"2026-02-10T22:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T22:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/129372\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T22:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T22:36:10","slug":"well-known-around-staten-islands-restaurants-former-trucking-company-owner-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/129372\/","title":{"rendered":"Well-known around Staten Island\u2019s restaurants, former trucking company owner dies"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 At the time Charles Murphy was born in 1929, West Brighton was beginning to boom. Since the turn of the century, the steeples of Sacred Heart Church and the tower of Staten Island Hospital\u2014now Richmond University Medical Center\u2014had already become familiar landmarks, visible across the neighborhood and even from passing ships. The blocks were dense and walkable, as they are today, but back then it was the kind of place where everyone knew the pharmacist, the butcher and the soda\u2011jerk at Bement Pharmacy.<\/p>\n

Mr. Murphy, a lifelong Staten Islander, Army veteran, attorney and all-around gentleman, died peacefully in his sleep on Feb. 9. He was 97.<\/p>\n

\"CharlesThe Murphy family growing up in 1930s Staten Island\u2014a snapshot from the early West Brighton years.(Courtesy of the Murphy family)Knowing people and being known<\/p>\n

Mr. Murphy grew up at the corner of Forest and North Mada Avenues and attended Sacred Heart School. Back then, North Mada was still a dirt road. In 1941, he took his first job working the soda fountain at Bement Pharmacy\u2014the kind of neighborhood post that shaped his lifelong habit of knowing people by name and being known in return.<\/p>\n

Charles was known as \u201cKnute,\u201d a nickname taken from Knute Knudsen, a character in the 1930s comic strip Harold Teen<\/a> by cartoonist Carl Ed, and bestowed upon him by his brothers Frank and Jack (who later served in Congress). In his later years, he became a familiar face at Cole\u2019s Dockside in Great Kills Harbor, where he liked to sit with a view of the water. After his wife Brenda\u2019s death, he visited nightly\u2014a steady routine that brought him comfort and community.<\/p>\n

\"CharlesThe Murphy family, circa 1945.(Courtesy of the Murphy family)<\/p>\n

One of the most vivid portraits of Mr. Murphy in this chapter of his life appeared in a 2017 Advance\/SILive.com feature by columnist Carol Ann Benanti. She wrote about the deep connection he and Brenda shared with Cole\u2019s Dockside<\/a>\u2014a place where they often dined together and where conversation was its own ritual. After Brenda\u2019s passing, the staff and regulars embraced Mr. Murphy as family. During those solo dinners, as a gesture of affection and respect, he was not presented with a bill\u2014a kindness extended specifically during that period of his life.<\/p>\n

\"MagicAs a regular, Charles \u201cKnute\u201d Murphy favored a table at Cole\u2019s Dockside with a clear view of the harbor whenever he dined alone.
\n(Advance\/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)<\/p>\n

That seat is now empty.<\/p>\n

When owner Larry Cole<\/a> later sold the restaurant, he made sure the new owners <\/a>understood that Mr. Murphy should always have a place at the table\u2014a promise they honored.<\/p>\n

\u201cMagic Mike\u201d Lane, Cole\u2019s longtime bartender and resident magician,<\/a> said Mr. Murphy continued coming to the restaurant until about six weeks ago. He always drank water with his dinner\u2014sometimes sparkling\u2014and ate simply: a piece of chicken with vegetables, a piece of fish, and occasionally a filet mignon. \u201cMr. Murphy was more than a customer\u2014he was part of our restaurant family,\u201d Magic Mike said. \u201cIt was 97 years well lived. We were honored to serve him and call him our friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CharlesCharles “Knute” Murphy while at
\nLaSalle Military Academy.(Courtesy of the Murphy family)<\/p>\n

\u201cAs sad as we are for his loss, we are grateful to have had him for such a long time,\u201d said his daughter Katy Murphy. \u201cHe loved Cole\u2019s because sometimes you want to go where everyone knows your name.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, Larry Cole and his staff knew Murphy\u2019s name\u2014and Brenda\u2019s. The now\u2011retired Cole first welcomed them at his original restaurant, Sweet Basil\u2019s in Annadale, which he opened in 1986. When he later opened Cole\u2019s Dockside\u2014at 369 Cleveland Ave. in Great Kills, where it has always been\u2014the Murphys followed him there as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe lived a good life and we were delighted to have him from Day One,\u201d Cole said. <\/p>\n

\"CharlesKnute and Jack Murphy during the Korean War, 1952.(Courtesy of the Murphy family)Entrepreneurship and community appreciation<\/p>\n

He attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he met the love of his life, Brenda Casey. The couple married and shared 65 years together until her passing in 2016. After his Army service during the Korean War, they settled in Great Kills and raised five children.<\/p>\n

As a second lieutenant, Mr. Murphy served as an infantry platoon leader, earning a Combat Infantryman\u2019s Badge and Korean Service Medal. He later served in the Army Reserve, retiring as a captain. The GI Bill allowed him to continue his education; he earned a law degree from Fordham University and a master\u2019s degree in labor law from New York University.<\/p>\n

\"CharlesFrom left: St. Patrick\u2019s Society members Mark, Knute, Steve and Tim.(Courtesy of the Murphy family)<\/p>\n

Mr. Murphy worked in labor relations for Hertz and US Plywood before opening his own trucking company, Cleveland General Transport, which he operated for 40 years. He was known for his fairness, his calm under pressure, and his ability to navigate difficult negotiations with a steady hand.<\/p>\n

After retirement, he remained active in the community, especially with the Cespino-Russo American Legion Post. He enjoyed world travel, golf, fishing, and bowling, and he formed lasting friendships at the South Shore YMCA.<\/p>\n

\"CharlesCharles “Knute” Murphy was a Staten Island native who was born and raised in West Brighton.(Courtesy of the Murphy family)<\/p>\n

Mr. Murphy is survived by his sister, Rose McBrien; his children George (Julia), Frank, Stephen, Madeleine, and Catherine \u201cKaty\u201d; six grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n

The wake will be held at Casey McCallum Rice South Shore Funeral Home on Friday, February 13, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. The funeral Mass will be celebrated at Saint Claire Church on Nelson Avenue on Saturday, February 14, at 9:45 a.m.<\/p>\n

\"CharlesCharles \u201cKnute\u201d Murphy at his regular table at Cole\u2019s Dockside in Great Kills, where the harbor was his backdrop and conversation was never far away.(Courtesy of the Murphy Family)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 At the time Charles Murphy was born in 1929, West Brighton was beginning to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129373,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-129372","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}