Jimmy Murphy, a founder of Brendan Vacations and AmaWaterways and a co-founder of the U.S. Tour Operators Association (USTOA), died Dec. 18 after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 82.
“I have known Jimmy Murphy for 25 years and the more I got to know him, the more I realized what a unique, true gentleman Jimmy Murphy actually was,” said Rudi Schreiner, president and co-owner of AmaWaterways.
"We all loved Jimmy Murphy, and he will be missed by all of us.”
“Few people have touched the lives and hearts of so many people as did Jimmy Murphy,” said Terry Dale, president and CEO of USTOA. “USTOA is so privileged to have had him as a founder, and we all are beneficiaries as a result. We celebrate his extraordinary life and contributions to our industry.
Born and educated in Ireland, Murphy spent nine years with a retail travel agency in Dublin before moving to the U.S. He served as a sales executive with Irish airline Aer Lingus for 11 years.
In 1969, Murphy became one of the founders of Ireland specialist Brendan Vacations (formerly Brendan Tours), which he sold to the Travel Corp. in 2006.
He remained at Brendan for another three years, leaving the company in 2009 to focus full-time on the river cruise operation AmaWaterways, which he helped found in 2002 and co-owned with Rudi Schreiner and Kristin Karst.
In 2010, Murphy received a Travel Weekly Lifetime Achievement Award. He also served as national treasurer of ASTA for four years. He was inducted into the ASTA Hall of Fame in 2003.
“Jimmy Murphy personified all that was great about the hospitality industry,” John and Mary Stachnik, co-owners of Mayflower Tours, said in a statement. “Just as his company was named after Brendan the Navigator, Jimmy navigated his loyal travelers through his homeland in grand style. We will miss you, Jimmy.”
Murphy is survived by his wife, Sheila Murphy, and his children, Sharon Devitt, Susan Murphy, Sean Murphy and Gary Murphy, who is vice president of sales at AmaWaterways.
Services will be held Dec. 22, at 1 p.m. at Corpus Christi Church, 880 Toyopa Dr., in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Additional services will be held in Ireland on Jan. 12, where Murphy will be buried.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the attention of Paul K. Smith, written to “The Archdiocese of LA fbo Murphy Music Fund” at Archdiocese of Los Angeles, 3424 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90010.
This report was updated at 6:24 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 18, 2014.