Former DuPage GOP chairwoman remembered as 'trailblazer'

Longtime DuPage County Republican Chairwoman Barbara Murphy may not have considered herself a trailblazer, even if her contemporaries did.

Her obituary notes Murphy always gave credit to former state Senate President James "Pate" Philip for "including her as the only woman in the proverbial 'all male smoke filled' meetings."

But it also was Murphy's sharp and highly regarded political mind that propelled her to the top of the male-dominated party leadership in DuPage. Long before the blue wave loosened the party's grip, DuPage was one of the most reliably Republican strongholds in the country when Murphy was a prominent GOP operative in the 1990s.

"But Barbara never blew her own horn," said Pat Durante, the former Addison Township GOP chairman. "She did her job. She knew that what she would do was good for the party. She wasn't one to pound her chest. That wasn't Barbara Murphy."

Murphy, who died March 3 at 81, entered the political arena as a volunteer for Richard Nixon's campaign in California in 1960. The pinnacle of her political career came with her election as a delegate backing presidential candidate Bob Dole in the 1996 Republican National Convention.

"I was very interested in politics, and I looked upon it as a hobby," Murphy told the Daily Herald in 1998. "Instead of playing tennis or bridge, I decided to become involved in politics."

A Connecticut native, Murphy had lived in Glen Ellyn since 1962. Party stalwarts remember her as warm and popular and seemingly ubiquitous, helping recruit candidates for office and building coalitions around their campaigns.

"Barb always seemed to be everywhere," former DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom said. "When you were either running for office or held office or interested in politics or part of the Republican Party, you knew of and hopefully knew Barb because she was a leader."

Schillerstrom called Murphy a "good listener" who made herself available. But she also was forceful in swaying GOP organizers to her point of view.

"Barbara would let you know what she needed, what she wanted, what she expected of you," Durante said. "She was very outspoken and the beauty of Barbara - when Barbara would say something, people would listen and she motivated people."

Durante relied on Murphy to help him start the Addison Township's Republican Women's Club. She was "the go-to person" for providing trusted advice to encourage women to get involved in politics.

"I don't know a statewide candidate that came to DuPage County that didn't take five minutes to call or meet with Barbara," Durante said. "If you were running statewide and you came to DuPage, one of the people you wanted to visit with was Barbara Murphy."

She played an instrumental role in Mary Jo Arndt's election as Republican National Committeewoman, Durante said. And she ran DuPage County's Lincoln Day dinners with an "iron hand."

"God help that person who would get in her way," Durante said. "She was a tiger."

Murphy was the first woman elected Milton Township trustee and the first woman elected chair of the Milton Township Republican Central Committee's organization. Her resume included appointments to the Illinois Motor Vehicle Review Board, Illinois Toll Highway Advisory Board, DuPage Civic Center Authority and the DuPage Domestic Violence Task Force.

"Barbara Murphy was a trailblazer," DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin said in a statement Wednesday. "At a time when there were fewer women in leadership roles in politics, she stood apart. Barbara was extraordinarily good at what she did and was recognized for her ability to get the job done."

Ahead of the 1996 Republican National Convention, she reflected on the influence of women in politics and in improving the political process.

"Women have such great avenues to talk to people about issues they really believe in: they go to the grocery store, they go to the beauty shop," Murphy told the Daily Herald. "For every one person you convince to vote your way, they go out and convince 10 more people."

Her visitation is set for 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 9, at Leonard Memorial Home at 565 Duane St., Glen Ellyn. A funeral service will follow at noon. Interment will be at Forest Hill Cemetery in Glen Ellyn.