BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Kevin Louis Murphy, a devoted family man and the Managing Partner of Brentwood Capital Advisors, died on Nov. 9 after a courageous 10-year battle with kidney cancer. He was 58.
Born on July 13, 1962, in Ocean City, New Jersey, Kevin was the youngest child of Charles Francis Murphy and Carolyn Boyd Murphy. A 1980 graduate of Ocean City High School, Kevin excelled in academics and athletics. He had a competitive spirit and passion for sports from a young age, playing on the 1979 All-South Jersey All-Star Football Team and later becoming an offensive lineman for the University of Pennsylvania.
He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in Economics with a concentration in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School. Following his graduation, Kevin worked at Wachovia Corporation, where he became a senior vice president and manager of the Capital Markets Group. He later joined SunTrust Equitable Securities, where he became the managing director of the Investment Banking Group.
For more than 20 years, Kevin was a leading presence at Brentwood Capital Advisors, the Nashville-based investment banking firm that he co-founded in 1999 and ran as Managing Partner. By the time of his death, Brentwood Capital Advisors was a premier mergers-and-acquisitions and capital-raising advisory firm for rapidly growing health care, technology and technology-enabled services companies. He was responsible for overseeing countless transactions for his clients, including many of Nashville’s leading companies. Everyone who worked with Kevin knew that he cared as much about their success as they themselves did.
Kevin was a devoted father and husband, a master of witty phrases and aptly descript words, a selfless mentor, an astute businessman and a tough negotiator. Throughout his life, he actively contributed to the community, coaching baseball, softball, basketball and football. He loved travel, military history and antique firearms.
He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Kim Murphy. In addition to his wife, survivors include his three children, Connor, Aislinn and Bailey Murphy; his brother, Dr. Charles Murphy (Gwen); his sister, Dr. Kim Armstrong (Scott); his nephews, Andrew Murphy and John R. Armstrong; and his nieces, Laura Murphy Mittelman (Max) and Samantha Armstrong.
His life will be honored in a private ceremony at Holy Family Catholic Church in Brentwood on Saturday, Dec. 5. In lieu of sending flowers, please donate to Operation Stand Down Tennessee and UPenn Football.
