SR0073 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0073 LRB100 06543 MST 16583 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of William Celestin "Bill" Murphy of Aurora, who passed away on November 25, 2016; and

WHEREAS, William Murphy was born in Chicago to William F. and Louise Florence Murphy on December 5, 1920; he graduated from Aurora West High School in 1938, where he was a nationally-honored extemporaneous speaker and debater, placing second in the nation in extemporaneous speaking in that year; he was also a lineman on West High's Upstate Eight Champion football team during his senior year; he attended Harvard University on a scholarship, graduating magna cum laude in 1942; as a senior, he was elected a Phi Beta Kappa scholar and was selected by his classmates to deliver the Harvard Oration at graduation; and

WHEREAS, During World War II, William Murphy served as an officer in the United States Navy and was assigned to the Pacific Theater as a supply officer aboard the escort carrier USS Corregidor; he left active duty in 1946 and entered Harvard Law School; he graduated in 1948 and returned to Aurora to practice law; he married Mary Jean Powers in 1951; and

WHEREAS, William Murphy was a respected and groundbreaking trial attorney; during his 68-year career, he represented people from all walks of life: farmers, school teachers and school boards, factory workers and industrialists, and Illinois Supreme Court justices who turned to him for counsel and guidance; he continued to practice law actively until August of 2016; and

WHEREAS, William Murphy was named a Laureate by the Illinois State Bar Association in 2002, an award honoring those who exemplify the highest ideals of the legal profession; and

WHEREAS, William Murphy married Mary Lou O'Connell in 1991; and

WHEREAS, William Murphy was an accomplished artist, painting oil and watercolor still lives and scenes of Aurora, Chicago, and the many places he visited all over the world; he was proud to be an alternate delegate to the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, California, where he helped nominate his fellow Harvard graduate, John F. Kennedy, as the Democratic candidate for President; and

WHEREAS, William Murphy was a voracious reader, reading the New Yorker magazine cover-to-cover on a weekly basis, and the New York Times daily, in addition to the local papers and his law journals; he relished classical music, gardening, and Jack Russell terriers; most recently, he established three scholarships at Waubonsee Community College, the Louise Florence Scholarship, the Mary Jean Murphy Scholarship, and the Mary Lou Murphy scholarship; and

WHEREAS, William Murphy was preceded in death by his first wife, Mary Jean; his second wife, Mary Lou; his brother, J. Robert Murphy; and his parents; and

WHEREAS, William Murphy is survived by his children, William (Nancy Richard), Maire Ann (Carl Snider), and Keelin; seven grandchildren; six step-grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of William Celestin "Bill" Murphy, and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of William Murphy as an expression of our deepest sympathy.