1911 – 2003

SCARBOROUGH – James F. Murphy, 92, died Tuesday, April 15, at the Maine Veterans Home.

He was born in Lewiston, March 28, 1911, the son of Francis M. Murphy and Helen Burns Murphy. He attended Lewiston and Malden, Massachusetts schools. He served in the U.S. Army at Fort W.H. Wright, the 11th Coast Artillery Course at Fishers’ Island, NY, from 1928-1931.

He married Gladys Morin in November, 1931. Mr. Murphy learned the granite cutting trade while working with the family business, Murphy Monuments in Lewiston. “Jim” joined the Lewiston Police Department in 1934 where he was one of the first motorcycle officers. He became one of the department’s first detectives.

He was appointed a Lieutenant in 1947, Captain in 1949, and Senior Captain in 1951. He updated the fingerprinting system from the Henry System to the F.B.I. System. The files grew from 3000 in 1940 to 40,000 by the end of World War II. On three occasions, he was assigned to other departments to investigate murder cases. He was also a firearms expert and used photography to prove cases in court.

During World War II, he was a police instructor with the Civil Defense and instructed towns all over Androscoggin County on Police procedures. Upon retirement from the Lewiston Police Department after 26 years of service, he became the Chief of Police at Westbrook. While Chief at the Westbrook Police Department, he updated the record keeping system and was able to improve conditions for the officers.

He retired from Westbrook in 1969 and became the Assistant Director of what is now the Maine Criminal Justice School at Waterville. In that position, he traveled all over the state conducting police procedure schools to full and part-time enforcement officers. In 1973 he became a field representative of the Maine Criminal Justice Information System to implement the State of Maine Uniform Crime Reporting System (UCR). He traveled all over the state instructing law enforcement agencies on the recording of crimes.

He attended the National F.B.I. Academy in Washington, D.C. in 1955 at the 55th session. He was President of the F.B.I. Association for New England for the year 1965. He was a member of the International Chiefs of Police, Director of the New England Chiefs of Police for two years, and was a life member. He was a former President of the Maine Chiefs of Police, and was a life member. He was a life member and former President of the Maine Police Officers Association and the Cumberland County Law Officers Association. He retired in 1974 after 40 years in law enforcement. After retirement, he continued his detective work into family genealogy. He wrote a book on his family Murphy, and one on his wife’s family, Morin.

Aside from genealogy, his interests other than police work were gardening, cribbage, beano, Boy Scout leadership, making toys for his grandchildren, and working as a handyman. Mr. Murphy was predeceased by a daughter, Marlene Jacqmin, who died April 6, 1982, and his wife, Gladys Morin Murphy, who died May 31, 1995.

Surviving is a son, Michael J. Murphy and his wife Pamela of Portland; a daughter, Ann Murphy of Yarmouth; nine grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.