Murphy left legacy of smiles
George Barnes Barnestorming
gbarnes@telegram.com
After hearing last Monday of Jim Murphy’s death, I was flooded with so many good memories of him that I found it difficult to feel sad about his passing.
I am sad about his death but feel lucky to have known him for many years. Jim was someone who should have lived forever, because for eternity he would have continued to add value to the lives of people around him. But no one lives forever and Jim died exactly a week ago at 79.
For those who never had the privilege of knowing him, Jim Murphy was many things. He was especially an irreplaceable member of the Gardner community. He was also a skilled musician, artist, cartoonist, advertising executive, banker, humorist, master of most ceremonies in the city for decades, husband, dad, friend and co-worker.
I worked with him at The Gardner News, where he was head of advertising. He was also a friend and person I greatly admired. I may get in trouble for this, but with apologies to my wife, who is a colleague at the Telegram & Gazette, and the many good people I’ve worked with at three newspapers over almost 30 years, Jim was the best person I ever worked with.
I have never met anyone quite like him. In a world that values spontaneity, Jim was respected because he was a most predictable person. If you knew Jim, you knew what to expect. What you got was great.
When something important was happening, you expected Jim to be part of it. As a habit, and attribute, he was kind and respectful to everyone — always. He was the first to take an interest in anything going on, and the first to offer to help. He was the last to complain, preferring to spend his energy finding solutions to problems.
If something good was happening in Gardner, Jim was part of it. He embraced the past, embraced the future and embraced the present — all with the same enthusiasm.
As a reporter learning my craft at The Gardner News in the 1980s, Jim was one of my biggest supporters. He encouraged me in my column writing, and his interest in news made me feel like I was giving him a gift whenever I filed a big story.
Jim was an advertising person, but he loved the news. He worked with Alan Wickman and Steve Nims on the same floor as the newsroom, and the three were constantly pestering us for updates when something big was happening.
As advertising people, their approach was one that should be taught in colleges. Their work was not just focused on making money for the newspaper, but finding the best ways to get the message of local businesses out to the public so those businesses would sell their goods. A successful community meant a successful paper.
One of my favorite stories about Jim was how, after hearing the late Gardner police Officer Herve Leblanc talk about his experiences as a sailor aboard the USS Missouri during the signing of the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, Jim adopted Herve’s love of the battleship and its place in history. He became a member of the USS Missouri Association and even went so far as to become a key organizer of a reunion that brought together Americans and Japanese involved in the surrender, including dignitaries from both sides, military leaders and many old salts who were Herve’s shipmates.
A painting of the battleship’s first captain that hangs in the U.S. Naval Academy was a Jim Murphy original. I also treasure my Jim Murphy original. His caricature of me was the first picture of me used with one of my columns.
I’m not sure if I am always lucky in life, but I am sure of one thing: I am fortunate to have known such a kind and capable person as Jim Murphy.
George Barnes' article from the Worcester Telegram
11th November 2009