Sheila Murphy lived life on the side of the underdog.

Her son, Deacon Patrick Murphy-Racey, recalls a conversation he had with her shortly after she acquired her first cellphone.

“I could hear all this background noise, so I asked where she was,” he said.

She told him, “I’m downtown. They’re marching.”

He responded, “Who’s marching?”

“I don’t know,” the matriarch replied, “but I have to go join them.”

“That’s just how she was,” Murphy-Racey said.

Even into her 80s, Murphy, a distinguished Cook County jurist, University of Illinois adjunct professor and longtime Beverly resident, was “unstoppable,” an “Energizer Bunny” working with students, sharing legal advice and befriending everyone she met, Murphy-Racey said.

Murphy died Feb. 4 at her home in Chicago’s Smith Village. She was 87.

Murphy enjoyed a long prestigious career as a Cook County public defender, a private criminal defense attorney, Cook County’s first female presiding judge and champion for restorative justice.

She leaves an impressive resume of accolades and accomplishments. But those who knew her best say it was her empathy for the marginalized and penchant for forgiveness that made her an extraordinary human being.

A devout Catholic, Murphy was a member of St. Barnabas Church in Beverly.

Murphy-Racey said his mom was “horrified with the juvenile detention system” her entire life. He remembers waking up as a grade schooler in the family’s home on Longwood Drive to find “some kid sleeping in the next bed” because she refused to have them sent to detention.

“She was adamant about improving the quality of life for people in custody, and about keeping people out of jail,” he said.

The daughter of a lawyer, Murphy was born Aug. 18, 1937, and grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado She graduated from St. Mary’s High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee.

Murphy-Racey said his mom admitted to being a party girl in college and left the university without the necessary grades for acceptance to DePaul University’s School of Law.

Her father advised her “to meet with the president and make her case,” her son said.

During a meeting with John Paul Stevens, later a U.S. Supreme Court justice, she acknowledged her less than stellar GPA, and asked him to take a chance on her, Murphy-Racey said.

“She was accepted on a probationary status. But she promised to make him proud,” he recalled.

Many years later, Murphy-Racey said, Stevens was honored by the Chicago Bar Association.

“Mom presented the award to him. And she shared that story,” he said. “She kind of lived restorative justice.”

Murphy received the Justice John Paul Stevens Award from the Chicago Bar Association and Chicago Bar Foundation in 2019, for exemplifying Justice Steven’s integrity and commitment to public service, according to the Illinois State Bar Association.

Murphy worked from 1971-1978 in the Cook County public defender’s office, then in private practice until she was elected judge of the circuit court in 1989.

Murphy-Racey said the police, fire and pipefitters unions helped her break gender barriers and win against the “political machine.”

In 1992, she became the first woman appointed presiding judge of a municipal district in Cook County.

The following year, while presiding over the Markham Courthouse, Murphy realized how traumatizing it could be for children to be present in the courtroom, her son said.

With $25,000 authorized by then-County Board President Richard Phelan, and donations of toys and books, she opened a special supervised children’s room.

The idea caught on and soon, courthouses across the county followed suit.

“She was so proud of that,” he said. “She truly was a trendsetter.”

Murphy supervised 23 judges and was instrumental in starting community treatment courts and abolishing the death penalty in Illinois.

After Murphy retired from the bench in 1999, she began teaching restorative justice at University of Illinois Chicago’s Law School(formerly John Marshall).

A lifelong advocate for the rights of women, children and disempowered people, when Murphy left private practice in the early 2000s, she headed straight to the Back of the Yards neighborhood to learn from clergy about the legal needs of underprivileged Chicagoans.

That, said Michael Seng, law professor at UIC, was her introduction to restorative justice, a philosophy and practice that leads to healing by encouraging perpetrators to accept responsibility for their crimes and to work with victims to restore them and the community.

Murphy and her husband knew Seng through an educational partnership he led with the Czech Republic.

While on one of the annual trips to the Central European country, Seng recalled, Murphy was asked to help a young man on death row in Texas.

Dominique Green had been convicted of first-degree murder at age 18. Though he maintained his innocence, a jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to death.

Murphy and Green bonded and she agreed to represent him.

“Green had grown up in difficult circumstances,” Seng said. “He really was a deep thinker. Even the family of the victim tried to save his life.”

Nevertheless, Green’s sentence was carried out in 2004. His story is the subject of “A Saint on Death Row,” by Thomas Cahill.

“Sheila and one of our law students were with him when he was executed,” Seng said.

“One of his last wishes,” the professor recounted, “was to teach others about restorative justice so ‘they don’t end up like I did’.”

That, Seng said, was the impetus for the UIC project.

Together, Murphy and Seng, “sold the idea to the university.”

“We decided to start in the (Chicago) public schools in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.

“Then we went to St. Sabina’s, then to the Union League Boys and Girls Clubs in Humboldt Park,” he said.

Murphy was hired as an adjunct professor, teaching three days a week, Seng said.

The program, he said, “has been really transformative for our law students.

They take the class and then work with the boys and girls clubs on dispute resolution and other things.

Murphy and Seng also co-edited two books of essays, which included autobiographical chapters from Murphy, federal judges, legal experts and members of Alcoholics Anonymous, a cause that was close to Murphy’s heart.

“Her energy level was remarkable. Her insights were really perceptive. She was an inspiration to everyone she worked with,” Seng said.

Murphy-Racey said after his mom retired from law, she began attending Mass daily, befriending a contingent of widows she called the Buttercups.

His mom also loved Rainbow Cone and opening day for the White Sox.

His parents would get him and several of his buddies excused early from St. Barnabas School, he recalled. “We would go to the game and sit in the stands and eat hot dogs. She was a different kind of mom.”

Alice Collins grew up next door to Murphy.

“One of my earliest memories of her was practicing restorative justice with me and my twin brother,” Collins said. “We’d done something we shouldn’t have and got caught. But Sheila, instead of being angry, instead of yelling at us, invited us over to dinner and befriended us.”

In some ways, Collins said, Murphy was like a “second mother” to her, always encouraging, always interested.

“She brought us to see the symphony in Chicago for the first time. I’m the youngest of 10. My parents never had time to do things like that,” Collins said. “She took every opportunity to expand our view of the world and teach about forgiveness, the importance of working things out with each other.”

She was self-reflective, as well, Murphy-Racey said. He recalled that he was 12 or 13 when he asked her to stop drinking.

“And she did,” he said.

“Mom and Dad went to two meetings a week for more than half their lives,” he said, “and have been sober for more than 50 years.”

A 47-year friend of Bill W., co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Murphy also was a past president of the Lawyers Assistance Program.

Murphy continued to work until she was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2022.

Eventually, her family made the decision to move her to the memory care unit at Smith Village, Murphy-Racey said.

Murphy referred to her husband as the “love” of her life, Murphy-Racey said.

“Even though Dad didn’t need memory care, he opted to move into the unit with her,” he said.

The couple, who were married for more than 64 years, were able to stay together until about a year ago when Murphy was moved to skilled nursing.

Murphy is survived by her husband,Patrick Racey; brothers Charles Murphy (Mary Lou); John Murphy (Mary Kay); Martin J. Murphy, Jr. (Ann); son, Patrick Murphy-Racey (Ellie); daughter, Brigid Tonia Wolff (Bob); grandchildren: Sophie Reindl (Clay), Colin Wolff, Ian Wolff, Maeve Wolff, Patrick Daniel Racey and Brendan Wolff; great grandchild, Elijah Clayton Reindl; and 19 nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Gertrude and Martin J. Murphy, and her brother Ed Murphy.

Visitation will be 3 to 8 p.m. Feb. 11 at Donnellan Funeral Home, 10525 S. Western Ave., Chicago. A funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Feb. 12 at St. Barnabas Catholic Church, 10134 S. Longwood Drive, Chicago. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation www.pbmr.org/, and to Haymarket Center, haymarketcenter.org.

Donna Vickroy is a freelance columnist.