DANIEL MURCHIE McPHIE
Director/Trustee
Daniel M. McPhie ca. 1920
Daniel M. McPhie in the U.S. Navy
Daniel "Dan" Murchie McPhie was born May 9, 1887, in Rock Springs, Wyoming, USA. He died August 23, 1949, in Seattle, Washington, USA. His father was Angus McPhie (1862–1931), and his mother was Margaret McPhie (née Murchie, 1863–1890), both of Scotland.
At the age of three, Daniel McPhie lost his mother to typhoid fever. He and his five-year-old brother, John McPhie, were sent to live with their maternal grandparents in Salt Lake City. His father remarried some years later in Ogden, Utah, and the McPhie brothers returned to live with him and their stepmother. The family relocated to Almy, Wyoming, where the brothers' relationships with their stepmother deteriorated, and 13-year-old John McPhie ran away from home.
The family moved back to Ogden after two years, but it wasn't long before Daniel McPhie, like his brother, struck out on his own at the age of 13. He walked more than
16 hours from Ogden to Salt Lake City, where he stayed for approximately two years before returning to Ogden.
Shortly after his return to Ogden in 1902, McPhie enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the age 15. During his six years in the Navy, he made point-gunner 1st class and sailed on the USS Mohican, Hancock, Mayflower, and Kentucky. His assignments took him to both American coasts, as well as Panama, the Caribbean, the Atlantic, and the Mediterranean.
Upon completing his naval service, McPhie returned home and established himself in the plastering trade, a profession he would pursue for the next 40 years. He later became a member of the local plasterer's union.
In 1915, McPhie married Mary Marshall (1896–1977) in Salt Lake City, Utah. Together, they had five children: Bessie Marshall (1916–1975), an infant son (1917–1917), Mary (1919–2016), Joseph "Joe" Marshall (1921–2008), and Margaret (1927–2004). They also took in Mrs. McPhie's nephew, Gary Don McPhie (né Rose, 1938–2018), and raised him as one of their own.
McPhie was a cofounder of the Utah Pipe Band in 1937 and served as its equipment custodian. Among the other cofounders were his cousins, Angus Craig and Charles Craig. McPhie's daughters participated as Highland dancers, and his son, Joseph McPhie, played the bagpipes and was instructed by Angus Craig.
In 1949, while traveling with his wife en route to Canada for vacation, McPhie died of a heart attack in Seattle, Washington.