Bill Text: IL SR0073 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the death of William Celestin Murphy of Aurora.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-01-26 - Resolution Adopted [SR0073 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-SR0073-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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10 | WHEREAS, William Murphy married Mary Lou O'Connell in 1991; | ||||||
11 | and
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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