Ruth Eileen Murphy, former reporter, publicist and journalism teacher, died Thursday in Berkeley at the age of 77. Mrs. Murphy was a society reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle and the Oakland Tribune during World War II. She entered public relations in Oakland, working for the city park department, the YWCA, Merritt Hospital and the Community Chest. She then taught at Oakland High School for 10 years, specializing in journalism and English, before retiring in 1969.

A native of Madison, Wis., Mrs. Murphy graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in English in 1933. She was a reporter on the Daily Californian, then the university newspaper, and was women's editor her senior year. Mrs. Murphy was a member of numerous groups, including the Berkeley City Club, the League of Women Voters, Women in Communication, Berkeley Democratic Club and the Sierra Club.

She is survived by her husband, Raymond, of Berkeley; a son, Peter, of Livermore; a daughter, Sue Mote of Vacaville; a sister, Mary Anne Ramsden of Long Beach and five grandchildren. At her request, there were no services.