La Salle officials mourn former Mayor Paul Murphy: ‘Paul was a people’s mayor’

If not for former La Salle Mayor Paul Murphy, much of the city’s development east of Interstate 39 would not be there.

Murphy, who served two terms as mayor from 1989 to 1997, died Monday at his home in La Salle. He was 96. It was during Murphy’s tenure that La Salle’s development in the east end, of which J.C. Whitney became a cornerstone, took off.

“Murphy was a wonderful mayor, and he did a lot for La Salle, especially in the east end,” said Bob Vickrey, economic development director for the city of Peru.

Former La Salle Mayor Art Washkowiak served two terms as alderman during Murphy’s stint as mayor. He recalled that Murphy personally went door to door in La Salle’s east end to get easements and right of way for the city to extend water and sewer.

“Paul was definitely responsible for development, the J.C. Whitney plat and all the revenue that brought in,” Washkowiak said. “The golf course wouldn’t be there if not for his work with the Senica family, who played an integral part of the development.”

“Without that happening, I don’t know that the east end as we know it would have happened,” agreed Jim McPhedran, a longtime La Salle city attorney. “It resulted in the city of La Salle more than doubling its boundaries. It was really amazing what he was able to get it done.

“Paul Murphy was truly a man for his time.”

Murphy also remodeled City Hall and made it handicapped accessible, moving council chambers from the third floor to the first to facilitate public access.

“He was a very hands-on guy,” Washkowiak said. “I didn’t always agree with Paul, but I highly respected him, and we had a good run.”

Former La Salle Police Chief Tom Kramarsic said Murphy won people over with his formidable people skills but also with his heartfelt desire to create new jobs and increase his constituents’ standard of living.

“I was always impressed with his thoughts of making it better for people,” Kramarsic said. “He really put a lot of effort into helping people.”

The La Salle native enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the tail end of World War II and then transitioned into the Air Force before his honorable discharge in 1952. He and the former Josephine Lesniak were married a year later and, initially, Murphy supported his young family as a barber. Soon, he got into real estate and gravitated to politics.

Murphy lost his first bid for office in 1964 against then-incumbent B.D. Bruno, but he soon became a member of the La Salle County Zoning Commission and was elected to township posts before making another successful run for mayor in 1997.

As mayor, Murphy was someone who enjoyed helping somebody down on his luck. If a property owner was struggling to keep up his home and incurring nuisance violations along the way, Kramarsic recalled, Murphy was likely to make a few calls and send over workers and a truck at no cost to the homeowner.

“He was just that kind of person: He wanted to help everyone,” Kramarsic said. “Paul was a people’s mayor.”

Murphy retired from politics after his stint as mayor but remained visible in the community, the Veterans of Foreign Wars post and at his parish in La Salle. Although Murphy was grief-stricken after his wife’s death in 2021, Washkowiak said, Murphy remained “very active” and still drove up until a few weeks before his death.

Hurst Funeral Home in La Salle is in charge of arrangements.