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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of William Celestin "Bill" Murphy of Aurora,
4who passed away on November 25, 2016; and
 
5    WHEREAS, William Murphy was born in Chicago to William F.
6and Louise Florence Murphy on December 5, 1920; he graduated
7from Aurora West High School in 1938, where he was a
8nationally-honored extemporaneous speaker and debater, placing
9second in the nation in extemporaneous speaking in that year;
10he was also a lineman on West High's Upstate Eight Champion
11football team during his senior year; he attended Harvard
12University on a scholarship, graduating magna cum laude in
131942; as a senior, he was elected a Phi Beta Kappa scholar and
14was selected by his classmates to deliver the Harvard Oration
15at graduation; and
 
16    WHEREAS, During World War II, William Murphy served as an
17officer in the United States Navy and was assigned to the
18Pacific Theater as a supply officer aboard the escort carrier
19USS Corregidor; he left active duty in 1946 and entered Harvard
20Law School; he graduated in 1948 and returned to Aurora to
21practice law; he married Mary Jean Powers in 1951; and
 
22    WHEREAS, William Murphy was a respected and groundbreaking

 

 

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1trial attorney; during his 68-year career, he represented
2people from all walks of life: farmers, school teachers and
3school boards, factory workers and industrialists, and
4Illinois Supreme Court justices who turned to him for counsel
5and guidance; he continued to practice law actively until
6August of 2016; and
 
7    WHEREAS, William Murphy was named a Laureate by the
8Illinois State Bar Association in 2002, an award honoring those
9who exemplify the highest ideals of the legal profession; and
 
10    WHEREAS, William Murphy married Mary Lou O'Connell in 1991;
11and
 
12    WHEREAS, William Murphy was an accomplished artist,
13painting oil and watercolor still lives and scenes of Aurora,
14Chicago, and the many places he visited all over the world; he
15was proud to be an alternate delegate to the 1960 Democratic
16National Convention in Los Angeles, California, where he helped
17nominate his fellow Harvard graduate, John F. Kennedy, as the
18Democratic candidate for President; and
 
19    WHEREAS, William Murphy was a voracious reader, reading the
20New Yorker magazine cover-to-cover on a weekly basis, and the
21New York Times daily, in addition to the local papers and his
22law journals; he relished classical music, gardening, and Jack

 

 

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1Russell terriers; most recently, he established three
2scholarships at Waubonsee Community College, the Louise
3Florence Scholarship, the Mary Jean Murphy Scholarship, and the
4Mary Lou Murphy scholarship; and
 
5    WHEREAS, William Murphy was preceded in death by his first
6wife, Mary Jean; his second wife, Mary Lou; his brother, J.
7Robert Murphy; and his parents; and
 
8    WHEREAS, William Murphy is survived by his children,
9William (Nancy Richard), Maire Ann (Carl Snider), and Keelin;
10seven grandchildren; six step-grandchildren; and nine
11great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
12    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL
13ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
14William Celestin "Bill" Murphy, and extend our sincere
15condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved
16him; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18presented to the family of William Murphy as an expression of
19our deepest sympathy.