Thomas Murphy

The Mayor's Aunt: a Chronicle of One Life Spent in Buffalo Ny During the 20th Century Thomas Murphy

Catherine Teresa Griffin was born in 1905 and was raised in the Old First Ward of Buffalo NY. She learned her catechism, and 'the joys of Heaven', from the Sisters of Mercy at St Bridget Parochial School and the realities of 'life here on earth' at "The School of Hard Knocks" and she never forgot either of the lessons. Along with two older brothers, and a younger sister, she was brought up by her widowed mother-to respect her elders, the clergy, and the value of the dollar, and learned to take care of herself at an early age. Married to Thomas Murphy in 1932, she bore and raised three children, survived the Great Depression and World War II, prospered in a business career, and lived to see a Catholic in the White House, fifteen grandchildren reach adulthood, and her nephew, Jimmy Griffin, become the Mayor of the City of Buffalo NY. Kay Murphy, uncomplicated and uncompromising, died in 1988.