C. Murphy Moss

C. Murphy Moss

C. Murphy Moss of Charlottesville, Va., died at his home on Jan. 5, 2021. Born Nov. 19, 1926, at Lake Charles, La., he received a baccalaureate degree in 1947 and law degree in 1949 from Tulane University in New Orleans, where he was valedictorian of his law class. He served on active duty in the U. S. Naval Reserve from 1944 to 1946, was commissioned at 18, received V-12 training at Tulane and attended midshipman school at Notre Dame. He was separated from service in the 1950s as a Lt. (j.g.).

Murphy was commander of the W. B. Williamson post in Lake Charles in 1954, and became the youngest state commander of the Louisiana American Legion in 1957. He remained a life member of the Legion. He served as Tulane Alumni Association president, was president of the Louisiana Multiple Sclerosis Society, president of the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association, a life fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and was active in civic groups throughout his life.

In 2005 he published an illustrated Moss family history commencing in the 18th century. His genealogical research discovered that he was a descendant of nine Mayflower passengers of whom one, Stephen Hopkins, was not only a signatory of the Mayflower Compact and active in affairs of the Plymouth Colony for 24 years, but had previously served six years at Jamestown.