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Jimmy Murphy, one of the iconic tour operator entrepreneurs in the U.S., died on Dec. 18 at age 82 after a yearlong battle with cancer. Murphy most recently served as chairman for AmaWaterways, the luxury river cruise specialist, which he co-founded in 2002 with Rudi Schreiner and Kristin Karst.

Murphy was perhaps best known as a founder and president of Brendan Tours, now Brendan Vacations, which began as an Ireland tour specialist before branching out to the South Pacific and other destinations. With his familiar Irish brogue, Murphy was a regular on the travel industry speaker circuit promoting the value of tours and later the benefits of river cruises.

Born and educated in Ireland, Murphy spent nine years with a retail travel agency in Dublin, which he joined while still in high school. He moved to the U.S. in the 1950s, serving briefly with Cunard Line, before becoming the chief U.S. sales executive for Aer Lingus for 11 years.

In 1969 Murphy became one of founders of Brendan Tours, which quickly developed as one of the leading escorted tour operators to Ireland. He sold Brendan to Travel Corp. in 2006. He later was joined by his son Gary at Brendan. Gary also worked with him at AmaWaterways.

“I feel blessed, for rarely do a father and son have the opportunity to share so much together,” said Gary Murphy. “As a family, we count our blessings for our husband and father, and each other. Dad introduced us to the world, and how to live well in it.”

Murphy was instrumental in the creation of the U.S. Tour Operators Association (USTOA), serving as founding president and the association’s first-ever chairman, followed by a second chairman stint in 1992. In addition, he served as a national treasurer for the American Society of Travel Agents for four years. In 1995, Murphy received ASTA’s Allied Member of the Year Award and in 2003, was inducted into the ASTA Hall of Fame.

“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 Schreiner. “In 2002, Jimmy, Kristin Karst and I decided to start our own river cruise line and during our 12-year partnership at AmaWaterways, our families became very close. When Kristin and I got married in April 2011, Jimmy took over Kristin’s ‘Father of the Bride’ role since her own father no longer traveled long distances and he gracefully guided Kristin to the altar. We all loved Jimmy Murphy and he will be missed by all of us.”

Murphy is survived by his wife, Sheila Murphy, and his children, Sharon Devitt, Susan Murphy, Sean Murphy and Gary Murphy. Services will be held Monday, Dec. 22, 2014 at 1 p.m. at Corpus Christie Church, 880 Toyopa Drive, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. Additional services will be held in Ireland on January 12, 2015, where Murphy will be buried.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting 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.

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