Full Text of SR0073 100th General Assembly
SR0073 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of William Celestin "Bill" Murphy of Aurora, | 4 | | who passed away on November 25, 2016; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, William Murphy was born in Chicago to William F. | 6 | | and Louise Florence Murphy on December 5, 1920; he graduated | 7 | | from Aurora West High School in 1938, where he was a | 8 | | nationally-honored extemporaneous speaker and debater, placing | 9 | | second in the nation in extemporaneous speaking in that year; | 10 | | he was also a lineman on West High's Upstate Eight Champion | 11 | | football team during his senior year; he attended Harvard | 12 | | University on a scholarship, graduating magna cum laude in | 13 | | 1942; as a senior, he was elected a Phi Beta Kappa scholar and | 14 | | was selected by his classmates to deliver the Harvard Oration | 15 | | at graduation; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, During World War II, William Murphy served as an | 17 | | officer in the United States Navy and was assigned to the | 18 | | Pacific Theater as a supply officer aboard the escort carrier | 19 | | USS Corregidor; he left active duty in 1946 and entered Harvard | 20 | | Law School; he graduated in 1948 and returned to Aurora to | 21 | | practice law; he married Mary Jean Powers in 1951; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, William Murphy was a respected and groundbreaking |
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| 1 | | trial attorney; during his 68-year career, he represented | 2 | | people from all walks of life: farmers, school teachers and | 3 | | school boards, factory workers and industrialists, and | 4 | | Illinois Supreme Court justices who turned to him for counsel | 5 | | and guidance; he continued to practice law actively until | 6 | | August of 2016; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, William Murphy was named a Laureate by the | 8 | | Illinois State Bar Association in 2002, an award honoring those | 9 | | who exemplify the highest ideals of the legal profession; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, William Murphy married Mary Lou O'Connell in 1991; | 11 | | and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, William Murphy was an accomplished artist, | 13 | | painting oil and watercolor still lives and scenes of Aurora, | 14 | | Chicago, and the many places he visited all over the world; he | 15 | | was proud to be an alternate delegate to the 1960 Democratic | 16 | | National Convention in Los Angeles, California, where he helped | 17 | | nominate his fellow Harvard graduate, John F. Kennedy, as the | 18 | | Democratic candidate for President; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, William Murphy was a voracious reader, reading the | 20 | | New Yorker magazine cover-to-cover on a weekly basis, and the | 21 | | New York Times daily, in addition to the local papers and his | 22 | | law journals; he relished classical music, gardening, and Jack |
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| 1 | | Russell terriers; most recently, he established three | 2 | | scholarships at Waubonsee Community College, the Louise | 3 | | Florence Scholarship, the Mary Jean Murphy Scholarship, and the | 4 | | Mary Lou Murphy scholarship; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, William Murphy was preceded in death by his first | 6 | | wife, Mary Jean; his second wife, Mary Lou; his brother, J. | 7 | | Robert Murphy; and his parents; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, William Murphy is survived by his children, | 9 | | William (Nancy Richard), Maire Ann (Carl Snider), and Keelin; | 10 | | seven grandchildren; six step-grandchildren; and nine | 11 | | great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
| 12 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | 13 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 14 | | William Celestin "Bill" Murphy, and extend our sincere | 15 | | condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved | 16 | | him; and be it further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 18 | | presented to the family of William Murphy as an expression of | 19 | | our deepest sympathy.
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