Diana E. Murphy grew up in Faribault and went to the University of Minnesota where she earned degrees as an undergraduate, and a doctorate of law. Those are admirable things to accomplish but Murphy did something no woman before her ever did, she was appointed a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Murphy died last week at the age of 84. She was heralded by Sen. Klobuchar because she "helped break the judicial glass ceiling” and pushed for more female judges. Murphy was appointed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1994 after serving as a U.S. District Court judge since 1980.

According to her Wikipedia page, Murphy was nominated by President Bill Clinton on July 28, 1994, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated by Judge John R. Gibson. She was confirmed by the Senate on October 7, 1994, and received the commission on October 11, 1994. She took senior status on November 29, 2016.

Murphy is just the latest in a line of great women from Faribault to make history, like Liz Strofus, who recently had the Faribault airport named after her.

Services for Murphy are scheduled for tomorrow in Minneapolis at St. Olaf Catholic Church located downtown.

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