Diana Murphy

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Murphy, Diana was a champion of justice and opportunity for all, and promoted education as a means to improve every-one's lives. She dedicated her life to these causes in both her personal and professional lives serving as a lawyer and a judge in state and federal court from 1974 until her death this past Wednesday. She always tried to use compassion in her work when the facts and circumstances allowed her to do so. She enjoyed the intellectual rigor of her work, and particularly loved the collegiality of the bench and the interaction with her fellow judges trying never to lose her sense of humor or her humility. She was also a firm believer in the importance of culture and the arts being a devoted reader and lover of classical music and opera. She will be sorely missed by her sons Michael (wife Johanna) and John (wife Suwannee), and granddaughters, Laura and Frances, and by her sister, Brenda Motomura. She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. Diana Murphy was born in Faribault on Jan. 4th 1934, and died at home on Wednesday May 18, 2018. She attended St Luke's Grade School in St. Paul, graduated from St. Paul Central HS in 1950, received her BA from the University of Minnesota in 1954, attended the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz on a Fulbright scholarship, was a graduate student and teaching assistant in the history department at the University of Minnesota where she met her future husband Joseph E. Murphy, Jr. She received a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1974, was appointed to the United States District Court by President Carter in 1979, was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit by President Clinton in 1994, and was the Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission from 1999 to 2004 (appointed by President Clinton). She was also considered by President Clinton to fill the post of the United States Attorney General in 1993, which was filled by Janet Reno. Diana served as Chairman of the Boards of St John's University, St. Thomas University, and the University of Minnesota Foundation., and was on the boards of the United Way, KTCA , the Minnesota Opera, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and Himmel (the Hill Monastic Library at St. Johns University). Before going to law school she was President of the Minneapolis League of Voters, served as Chair of the Minneapolis Charter Commission, and served on the boards of the Urban Coalition and the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union. Her life will be remembered at a 2:00 p.m. Mass on Tuesday May 22 at St. Olaf Catholic Church, 215 South 8th Street Mpls , with a reception to follow at the Minneapolis Club. In lieu of flowers you might consider a donation to (St. Olaf Catholic Church, St. Thomas University, St. John's University, U of M Friends of the Library, or the Minnesota Opera).

Published on May 20, 2018