Printer Friendly Version - Justin Murphy: In Service to Community

Justin Murphy’s volunteer organizations and programs include the Knights of Columbus, Operation American Soldier, Helping Hands Ministry, Habitat for Humanity, and a host of fundraisers. His volunteer work has been so valuable, he was named by the Archdiocese of Hartford as the recipient of the St. Joseph Medal of Appreciation representing St. Margaret parish. Photo courtesy of Justin Murphy

As the COVID-19 virus winds its silent infection through cities and towns and heroic health care professionals labor ceaselessly to treat the most afflicted, many non-medical individuals find ways to make a difference in their communities.

A tireless volunteer, he is eager to help wherever he sees a need—and in these days when a viral outbreak forces town services and businesses to temporarily close, putting a strain on resources and manpower, it is easy to find one.

With an established network of men from the Knights of Columbus and volunteers from other organizations and programs, Justin responds to a request from the Madison Senior Center to help at-risk seniors with their day-to-day needs. The elderly need food from grocery stores and prescriptions to be filled by pharmacies, but getting out of their homes exposes them to the risk of infection.

So Justin turns to a method he knows to be most effective: He sends out an email to encourage the knights to volunteer, and the Senior Center then pairs them with the requesting elderly. He himself takes part by serving as a volunteer driver.

“In times of real need or greater need, people do tend to step up,” he says with his usual optimism.

He lives by his motto, “If we can, we will” that urges him and his fellow knights to find a way when a person in need approaches any of the Madison organizations he works with.

Justin’s volunteer work has made such a difference in the community that he was named by the Archdiocese of Hartford as the recipient of the St. Joseph Medal of Appreciation representing St. Margaret parish.

Although he is known to volunteer in a host of charitable programs and endeavors, he says his involvement in the community began with his membership with the Knights of Columbus.

From its founding in 1882, the Knights of Columbus has grown to be a worldwide organization with councils in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and several other countries in Asia and Europe. The organization was founded when Father Michael J. McGivney, a young parish priest from St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, gathered a group of men to address the needs of Catholic families struggling in those days after the untimely death of fathers and wage earners.

The founding members chose as their patron Christopher Columbus, a Catholic who was universally esteemed at the time, and named themselves “Knights of Columbus” as an affirmation in their belief that allegiance to their country does not conflict with fidelity to their faith.

Through the years, knights have abided by their four core principles of charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism. During the Spanish influenza in 1918, knights lived their principle of charity, in some instances transforming their facilities in the field to emergency hospitals with a number of Knights of Columbus personnel helping the ill without fear of contagion.

Justin feels this same sense of urgency in volunteering his time during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The knights are also steeped in tradition and respect, partly evident in their parlance. Members call each other “brother knights,” local councils have religious names and are headed by “grand knights,” the headquarters in New Haven is occasionally called “Supreme Office,” and the CEO bears the title “supreme knight.”

Justin is the grand knight of the Sacred Heart Council 5780 based in St. Margaret parish in Madison.

“My father worked at the Supreme Office and was one of the founders of our local council, so like all my brothers, I joined when I turned 18, the minimum age,” he says.

Justin has five brothers, one deceased and another, the oldest, a Franciscan priest.

“When asked, I tell people I joined because my father made me, which is actually true. Looking back, I’m glad he did,” he adds.

Justin was born and raised in Madison but moved away after college. He returned in 2014 and transferred his knights membership to the council in St. Margaret parish, but preferred to stay in the background despite the fact that his father, John Murphy, had founded the council and had worked at the Knights of Columbus headquarters, rising to deputy supreme knight before he retired in 1985.

He recalls his return to Madison six years ago and says, “I did rejoin the knights. I didn’t tell them who my father was. I didn’t tell them he founded the council. I just joined and kind of snuck in there and sat in the back row and started helping out where I could.”

On the professional side, Justin worked in the financial industry, but was drawn to real estate as investment.

“I started out in finance, but it just felt like numbers on a page. I took a real estate class as an elective and loved it. I enjoy the more tangible nature of real estate,” he says.

After working a few years doing real estate appraisals, he worked in asset management and real estate fund portfolios at JP Morgan for close to 20 years and rose to managing director in the company.

He chose to retire early from his profession to devote more time to his wife, Carmen, and their two children, Kyle, 23, and Sarah, 20.

He relates how Kyle is a miracle baby, one of twins. His twin brother, Jack, was born prematurely at 23 ½ weeks, on the borderline of viability in those days, and lived 9 to 10 hours.

Meanwhile, the contractions subsided and Kyle somehow stayed in utero and was born two weeks later.

Justin’s retirement also allowed him to focus on doing more volunteer work and “to give back to the community.”

His charitable efforts with the knights include Operation American Soldier, which involves sending food and supplies to active military members overseas; Helping Hands Ministry, which he established to help Madison residents in need with day-to-day services and home repairs; the Tootsie Roll Drive where knights seek monetary donations and donors are offered a piece of candy, most commonly a Tootsie Roll; Family-to-family gift programs providing Christmas gifts to deserving families in New Haven at Christmas and on Epiphany on Jan. 6; Habitat for Humanity; and various fundraisers to support local charities including SARAH Inc., Raise the Roof, the Madison Food Pantry, and St. Margaret parish ministries.

Yet the Knights of Columbus is not the only organization that takes up Justin’s time and talents. In November 2019, he took a new role when he was elected member of the Board of Finance in Madison.

In 2018, he volunteered with the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide to offer free tax preparation assistance to those aged 50 and older who couldn’t afford a tax preparation service. During his stint with AARP Foundation, he realized how the town of Madison had aging residents in need of assistance, leading him to establish the Helping Hands Ministry.

But Justin notes that credit does not belong solely to him and that charity begets charity, especially when volunteers see the need in the community.

In one instance, he had to obtain the help of professional contractors to replace a rotted wooden basement door and a leaky window for an elderly couple in town. The couple was financially strapped but was able to ask a relative to help finance the projects.

While Justin was willing to provide his labor for free, he didn’t feel that the other men who also had families to support were obliged to do the same. But to his surprise, after the projects were completed and the bill for the services came, he saw that they too refused payment for their labor and the elderly couple had to pay only for the new door and window.

Still, another service was born when Father Daniel McLearen, former pastor at St. Margaret Church and current rector of St. Joseph Cathedral in Hartford, asked him in 2017 if he could serve as a lay minister for non-liturgical services at wakes and burials.

That honor was amplified when he discovered that the first wake service was for Desmond Kearney.

“Desmond and his wife, Rita, who passed away years ago, were best friends [with my parents] their entire lives here in Madison—so much so that Desmond and Rita were godparents to my brother Mark. So just by coincidence, that was my first opportunity to preside at a wake service. And that was an incredible gift to me,” Justin explains.

Even in his numerous volunteer programs, Justin prefers to steer the limelight to all others who volunteer in the church and the community.

Referring to St. Margaret Church, he says, “I consider us certainly not a big city parish, and yet we have 50-plus lay ministries.”

He adds, “There are so many people who do so much for the benefit not only of the parish, but really most of these ministries reaching out to the community.”