Politics & Government
Niles Remembers 31-Year Trustee Bart Murphy
Fellow officials salute his years on the village board, hail him as a financial expert and steady presence.
Dozens of people stood in a hushed presence after Mayor Robert Callero asked for a moment of silence at Tuesday's village board meeting to honor former Niles trustee Bart Murphy, who passed away Feb. 2.
Murphy had spent many hours in the very room where the village meeting took place, stepping down just two years ago after 31 years of service on the village board.
Trustee Andrew Przybylo, who served on the board for about 15 years with Murphy, said he admired him.
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"He was a progressive, but he was also grounded and conservative in many ways. He was always a steady hand. It was never about ego with him. It was always about what was good for the village of Niles," Przybylo said.
Murphy headed the finance committee, said Callero, who served on that committee with him for 15 years when Callero was a trustee.
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"He was knowledgeable, and he was close to the people," Callero said. "I can't say enough good about him--he was a great guy."
Trustee Louella Preston served the longest time with Murphy--24 years--and sat next to him the entire time.
"He was intelligent, he was loyal and he was knowledgeable about finance because of his position as president of Bankers Life and Casualty," Preston recalled.
Murphy had been married to his wife Carolyn for 25 years, after his first wife, who was the mother of his five children, died of breast cancer, Preston said.
She praised him for having strong middle class values, explaining that with his position as president and CEO of Bankers Life and Carolyn's position as a vice president of CNA Insurance, they could have moved to a more affluent location, but chose to stay in Niles.
"He was proud of his Irish descent, and he was instrumental in Niles becoming a Sister City with Leixlip, Ireland," she remembered.
She got to know Murphy better when the two of them co-chaired the village's centennial in 1999.
"He really believed in the Niles motto, 'Where People Count,'" she said.
See the .pdf file at right for Murphy's obituary from , where he was waked.
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