Thomas Murphy

Thomas Ouseley Murphy, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, died peacefully at home on July 6, 2012. Beloved husband of the late Mary nee Landis, dear father of Stephen T. Hope of Chagrin Falls, OH; Elizabeth Sanborn Mitchel of Gates Mills, OH and Thomas L. of Mt. Kisco, NY. Dear grandfather of Abigail and Alyssa Murphy and Sarah, William, Allison and Julie Sanborn. Dear brother of Ruth Ketchum and the late Rebecca Little, Marilyn Van Sweringen, James H. Murphy and Jo Ann Wood. Born January 16, 1923, Tom was raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio. He entered Kenyon College in 1941 and served as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WW II from 1943 through 1945. After graduation from Kenyon in 1947, Tom attended Western Reserve Law School. While in college and law school, Tom worked during the summer as a seaman aboard Great Lakes freighters. Upon graduation from law school, he joined Johnson, Branand and Jaeger, which later became Jaeger and Murphy, representing ship owners and underwriters in maritime personal injury, cargo, collision and U.S. Coast Guard matters. In 1976, Jaeger and Murphy merged into Thompson, Hine and Flory and Tom headed its maritime practice group until his retirement in 1992. Tom was the lead attorney for the ship owners and underwriters in the loss of the Steamer Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975. He later authored a book regarding his experience and the cause of the Fitzgerald sinking. Tom also served as the General Counsel for Lake Carriers' Association from 1982 to 1991 and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Maritime Law Association from 1983 to 1986. In addition, Tom had a lifelong commitment to support people with special needs. He was a Board member of the Community Living Corporation, a nonprofit organization serving individuals with special needs in the Mt. Kisco, NY area, for over 25 years. The family prefers that those who wish may make a contribution in his name to the Great Lakes Historical Society, 480 Main Street, Vermillion, OH, 44089, Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio, 2500 East 22nd Street, Cleveland, OH, 44115, or Plymouth Church of Shaker Heights, 2860 Coventry Road, Shaker Heights, OH, 44120. Memorial Services will be held Monday, July 16 at 4:00 PM at Plymouth Church. Internment at Lake View Cemetery.


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