IM MEMORIAM:
Richard T. Murphy, Sr.
Richard T. Murphy, Sr.
1924 - 2012
It was the love story of the social set in 1947. Young Dick Murphy, president of E.L. Murphy Trucking, was courting Helen Duffy, the youngest of three young Saint Paul women known as the “beautiful Duffy girls.” He was an up and comer—with ambition, lots of great ideas and the energy to make them happen—and she, just elected queen of the revived winter carnival. Their wedding in 1948 was the talk of the town.
E.L. Murphy Trucking, which in 1952 fell under young Dick’s leadership, would soon show the world that a family business could face down adversity and come out a winner just about every time. When deregulation ate up the profits in the trucking business, he shut the doors on E.L. Murphy and focused on the Warehouse business. That was in 1985.
In 1987, Dick opened the first public warehouse in the region to provide a Foreign Trade Zone—back then, a critical “commerce island” for players in the global business market such as 3M and Honeywell. Today, Foreign Trade Zones are listed as one of the more compelling reasons to do business in the Twin Cities by the Department of Employment and Economic Development.
During the 1990’s, Dick anticipated the concept of providing specialized warehousing systems for high-use, high-need industries including the paper, beverage and electrical generating industries. One such intriguing example of his ideas at work: Dick Murphy’s company ships the electrical generators and industrial engines that keep electricity flowing in the farthest flung reaches of China.
On the job, Dick Murphy demonstrated a smooth combination of tough business strategy and benevolent conviction. Both a dear friend and mentor, Dick once coached me with progressive ideas on on-the-job safety when I was writing safety communications 3M manufacturing plants. He wanted me to see that worker safety wasn’t just a dollars and cents thing. For Dick, a person out of work because of an injury might get financially compensated, “but,” he explained, “you can’t ever indemnify a person for losing the ‘joy of working’ for a living.”
People have described him as a gentleman to the end. A great leader. A dear friend. Kind, honest and fair. A man of great faith. And, of boundless energy.
There are many stories told of Dick in his Saturday overalls, painting or washing anything not tied down.
He was a history buff fully immersed up to his elbows in both the Minnesota Historical Society Board of Directors and the Ramsey County Historical Society Board of Directors. And he was tirelessly involved with the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis as well.
After he’d turned the reigns of management over to Richard and Laurie Murphy in 1993, he and Helen spent increasing time at their home on the North Shore.
But the Dick Murphy we remember most was the fellow Rotarian who attended our meetings.
Bill Faulkner talks about him most fondly when they did business together in the 1960’s, ‘70’s and ‘80’s—Bill as president at AmHoist and Dick at E.L. Murphy and subsequently, Murphy Warehouse. They were active together in Saint Paul Rotary during some turbulent decades too: Dick was president of the club from 1974-1975 and Bill from 1985 to 1986.
Dick attended nearly every meeting of Rotary, always dressed with one of his one hundred green ties—symbolizing his Irish heritage, Irish yearning and his Catholic faith—and with a fine, white linen handkerchief tucked just so, diligently ironed to keen crispness by Laurie all the time she was growing up.
Dick twinkled with Irish humor. He laughed easily. He worked hard. He loved easily and loved hard too. He was a powerful advocate for all Rotary was, is and shall be. We will miss him.
We request that this memorial resolution be read into the minutes of the Rotary Club of Saint Paul, and that a copy be sent to his family members.
Respectfully submitted,
William Faulkner, Past President
Deborah Gelbach
William Given