Janet Murphy, who helped lead Sister Cities program with Casablanca, dies at 83

Janet Murphy wanted to talk to you.

She wanted to know your story, where you were from, where you went to school — often leading to zigzagging conversations that could leave people enamored and possibly thinking they'd just shared more with this person they'd just met than they ever had with close friends.

The effect was especially acute on many a stony-faced cab driver in Chicago who ended up cracking a broad smile when the small, freckled lady in the back seat started speaking to them in Arabic — prompting a dialogue about each other's back stories.

Naturally curious, Mrs. Murphy wanted to see the world from a young age.

She grew up the youngest of eight siblings in a three-bedroom apartment in Boston. Her father, Patrick O'Donnell, was a police captain. Her mother, Elizabeth, was a homemaker.

She had lots of ideas about seeing the world; her protective parents approved of two.

The first took her to France for summer courses at Sorbonne University, a plan endorsed by nuns at Mrs. Murphy's school, Emmanuel College — a Catholic school in Boston — who provided housing in their convent.

The second was joining the Peace Corps, an initiative started by former President John F. Kennedy, a hometown hero.

Assigned to the North African country of Morocco, she arrived in 1964. It soon became apparent that the young women she was charged with teaching to sew and cook knew much more about those subjects than she did.

"Here we came from an ordinary educational experience in the United States to teach these things in a country renowned for its cuisine and textiles," said friend and fellow Peace Corps worker Froma Walsh. "We learned from them about their rich culture and history. Our genuine human connection with the people was the most important thing."

Mrs. Murphy settled in Chicago after serving two years in Morocco and married Michael Rosen, an architect she met during Peace Corps training. They had two kids and divorced.

Mrs. Murphy, who earned a master's degree in social work from the University of Illinois before enrolling in a Ph.D. program at the University of Chicago, worked as a youth and family social worker in the 1970s and 1980s, including for Cook County. She also worked as a real estate agent.

A neighbor, former Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan, introduced Mrs. Murphy to her second husband, Tom Murphy, a City Hall lobbyist and former Quigley Catholic High School classmate of his.

Then-Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Mrs. Murphy in 2001 to the board of directors of the city’s Sister Cities International program, where she served as co-chair of the Casablanca Committee.

Mrs. Murphy coordinated cultural exchanges that included visiting doctors, business leaders, artists, students, diplomats and politicians.

She often hosted Moroccan guests at her family home in Chicago or their summer home in Beverly Shores, Ind.

Her Moroccan counterpart visited so often that he kept a pair of shoes at Mrs. Murphy's Chicago home.

"People were always connecting with her," said her daughter, Liz Fischer. "It was kind of her superpower ... the diplomacy of being curious. And she was open to other people and cultures, and had no preconceived notions."

Mrs. Murphy died of natural causes on April 7. She was 83.

Family members said Mrs. Murphy had an open door policy that extended beyond Moroccan guests.

When the doorman of her downtown building suffered a fire at home, he and his family stayed at the Murphy residence until repairs were made.

When a fire damaged the home of one of her kids' grade school classmates, the family stayed with the Murphys.

"She's a person who sprang into action, and she was undaunted by what other people would find to be a difficult decision," her husband said.

The motto among her kids and friends became “What would Janet do?”

Mrs. Murphy who visited Morocco dozens of times and often recited a traditional Arabic blessing before meals, was honored by Moroccan King Mohammed VI for her dedication to the country and given the title Lady Janet Murphy.

She loved drinking coffee and playing bridge and Scrabble.

Her strong wit lasted through her last days, her husband said. When a doctor warned her that a breathing mask would feel like she was driving with her head out of the window, she replied, “I always ride like that.”

Mrs. Murphy is survived by her husband, Tom Murphy, her children Isabel Scharmer, Patrick Rosen, Maureen Murphy and Liz Fischer, as well as 10 grandchildren.

A visitation is scheduled for Friday at 1 p.m. at Holy Name Cathedral with a funeral Mass immediately following at 2 p.m.