FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BROTHER JOSEPH MURPHY, F.S.C., RETIRED PROFESSOR OF MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND CHAIR AT MANHATTAN COLLEGE, DEAD AT 87

RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Brother Joseph Murphy, F.S.C., retired professor of modern foreign languages at Manhattan College and former chair of the department, died on Good Friday, April 9, 2004, after a long illness.  He was 87 years of age and resided at De La Salle Hall, the Christian Brothers’ nursing home in Lincroft, N.J.

Born John Joseph in St. Joseph, Mo., Br. Joseph retired from full-time teaching at Manhattan College in 1981 but continued to teach part time until 1989.  He joined the College’s modern foreign languages department in 1967 and became its chair in 1970.  In 1974, Br. Joseph was appointed the first director of the Christian Brothers’ Center on Post Road, which is the current residence of the Brothers on campus.

Br. Joseph, who spent his early years as a Brother teaching French and religion in several of the Brothers’ high schools, was invested with the religious habit of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in 1933.  He knew early on that he wanted to join the Christian Brothers, and following eighth grade graduation in 1930, he entered high school at the Juniorate in Barrytown, N.Y.  Primarily raised in New York’s Upper West Side, Br. Joseph completed a bachelor’s degree in 1937 from The Catholic University of America and later went on to earn a master’s degree from Manhattan College and a doctorate in French from Fordham University.

Prior to joining the Manhattan College faculty, Br. Joseph taught at the Brothers’ College of Santa Fe in New Mexico.  He taught in the French department there for four years and also served as a resident director.

A wake for Br. Joseph and The Mass of Christian Burial was held on April 12 at De La Salle Hall in Lincroft, N.J.

Manhattan College was founded in 1853 upon the Lasallian tradition of excellence in teaching, inspired by St. John Baptist de La Salle.  Manhattan College is an independent, Catholic, coeducational institution of higher learning offering more than 40 major programs of study in the areas of arts, business, education, engineering and science.  For more information about the College, visit www.manhattan.edu.

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