Lewis Curtis "Lew" Murphy (November 2, 1933 – December 1, 2005) was a

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

pilot, lawyer, and politician. He served sixteen years as Mayor of

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

Biography

Murphy was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on November 2, 1933, to H. Waldo and Elizabeth (Curtis) Murphy. He grew up in

Clinton, Iowa Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. It borders the Mississippi River. The population was 24,469 as of 2020 United States census, 2020. Clinton, along with DeWitt, Iowa, DeWitt (also located in Clinto ...

, the home of his mother. He later attended Shattuck Military Academy in

Faribault, Minnesota Faribault ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Rice County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 24,453 at the 2020 census. Faribault is approximately south of Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highwa ...

. From 1950 to 1955 Murphy attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

, receiving a bachelor's degree in business administration. While in college he met Carol Carney, granddaughter of

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontier ...

. The two married in 1957. Murphy was in US Air Force from 1955 to 1958. He flew B-26 bombers while stationed in Japan. In 1958 Murphy returned to Tucson, earning a law degree in 1961. He was a trust officer at Southern Arizona Bank & Trust Co. from 1966 to 1970. Murphy was appointed Tucson's city attorney in 1970, a position he held until elected as Mayor of Tucson in 1971 on his 38th birthday.

Mayor of Tucson

Murphy served four terms as mayor, the longest-serving mayor in Tucson's history. City projects initiated under Murphy included bringing

Central Arizona Project The Central Arizona Project (CAP) is a 336 mi (541 km) diversion canal in Arizona in the southern United States. The aqueduct diverts water from the Colorado River at the Bill Williams Wildlife Refuge south portion of Lake Havasu n ...

water to Tucson, building the Kino Parkway, and the opening of the Community Food Bank. During this time Tucson's population almost doubled, the city annexed 63 square miles, and

Learjet Learjet was a manufacturer of business jets for civilian and military use based in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Founded in the late 1950s by William Powell Lear as Swiss American Aviation Corporation, it became a subsidiary of Canadian Bomba ...

and

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opened manufacturing plants. Murphy's term as mayor ended in 1987.

Later life and death

After leaving office, Murphy advocated for the community food bank. Wednesday afternoon, November 30, 2005, Murphy suffered a massive heart attack. He was taken to the Tucson Medical Center and placed on life support. He died at 4:45 PM the following day.

Tributes

According to ''Arizona Daily Star'' newspaper reporter David Leighton, in 1987, the year Murphy retired, Murphy's Overpass was named in his honor. The Murphy-Wilmot Branch Library of the

Pima County Public Library The Pima County Public Library (PCPL) system serves Pima County, Arizona, with a main library and 26 branch libraries as well as a bookmobile service. The system has its headquarters in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson with a service area including the ...

is also named after him. A bust of Murphy is on display in Reid Park, Tucson's largest park.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Lew University of Arizona alumni Mayors of Tucson, Arizona 1933 births 2005 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Arizona Politicians from New York City Politicians from Clinton, Iowa United States Air Force airmen Lawyers from New York City 20th-century American lawyers