The Hon. W. Tayloe Murphy Jr., a Life Member of the VBA and recipient of the association's highest honor, died Sept. 15, 2021. He was 88.

Mr. Murphy served Virginia as a delegate to the General Assembly and as secretary of natural resources in 2002-2006 under then-Gov. Mark Warner.

In 1999, Mr. Murphy received the Distinguished Service Award, later renamed the Gerald L. Baliles Distinguished Service Award, from the VBA. The honor is bestowed in recognition and appreciation of exceptional service and contributions to the bar and public at large. Other recipients have included the Honorable Lewis F. Powell Jr., former Gov. Baliles, the Honorable Whittington W. Clement and several Virginia governors and justices and chief justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia.

A native of Virginia, Mr. Murphy was a longtime resident of the Northern Neck.

Find the obituary online.