MURRAY H. FALK

1929 - 2017

FALK, Murray H. Federal Judge, Lifelong Attorney, Teacher and Early Civil Rights Advocate THE HONORABLE MURRAY H. FALK 1/18/1929 - 1/27/ 2017, Montrose, Colorado The Honorable Murray H. Falk passed away on January 27, 2017 at Valley Manor Care Center in Montrose, CO, at the age of "ocho ocho". Murray was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 18, 1929. He and his sisters Thelma and Mae spent their childhood in Leominster, MA, with their mechanical engineer and top notch jazz keyboard player father, Bernard, and volunteer nurse mother, Jeannette. After graduating from Worcester Academy and Yale University (Economics), he served as an artillery officer in the 3rd United States Infantry Division in the Korean War, where he saw a good deal of action and earned the Bronze Star. After his honorable discharge from active duty, he married Sara Rita Falk (who became the mother of his two daughters, Kathryn and Elizabeth). His family had founded Independent Lock Company (ILCO) near Leominster, and he worked there in the family business for a short time -- until he realized he was called to the law. At the University of Virginia Law School, he graduated in 1958, number two in his class (a position he treated with great jocularity throughout his life), met (and tutored) underclassman Ted Kennedy, and became active in civil rights with his friend and classmate John Merchant, the first African American to graduate from that law school. After Law School he worked on Wall Street, founded "Republicans for Kennedy" in New York, and continued his law practice and activism after a move to Massachusetts. He served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts during the Kennedy administration, co-founded the law firm of Moulton, Looney, Mazzone, Falk, and Markham after that group left the US Attorney's office, and then served in Washington, DC as a Trial Judge of the United States Tax Court. While at the Tax Court, he met and married Margie Karsh (formerly of Denver), and eventually they moved to California where he practiced tax law, representing many interesting and some well-known folks. After he retired, he and Margie moved to Arizona. Because his love for the law continued to call, he served as a judicial officer at the Arizona Department of Transportation. He also taught tax law at Golden Gate University, but it competed with his golf game so the teaching had to go. By the time all was said and done, Judge Falk was a member of the State Bars of NY, Massachusetts, District of Columbia, and California, was always active in the American Bar Association (ABA). He was the former chair of the ABA's Section of Taxation (among many other professional positions of trust). Murray's love of music, and his civil rights activism, remained strongholds and hallmarks of his life. He was predeceased by his sweet sister Mae Falk (Ed) Sandler, and his loyal and dear canine companion, Frosty. He is survived by his beloved and wonderful wife, to whom he attributed "my great happiness and my longevity," Margie Karsh Falk. He is also survived by his stalwart and loving sister, Thelma Falk (Harold) Bargar, his adoring daughters Kathryn Falk Campbell of Los Angeles, and Elizabeth Falk Marques of Lexington Massachusetts, sons-in-law Mark Campbell and Raul Marques, his beautiful grandchildren, Martha Lee Fehrman of Oakland California and Joseph Jordi Marques Falk of Maui, Hawaii, his step children, Melanie Kline and Dr. Craig Hollabaugh (Montrose, CO), whose care and coordination this past year were indispensable, Wendy Thrasher (Arlington TX), Ed Ginsburg (Denver, CO), and Michael Ginsburg (Monroe, UT), and their families. The family extends its gratitude to the caring staff at Valley Manor in Montrose Colorado. A private service was held at the gravesite on January 29, 2017. A memorial celebration will be held in Denver in the fall. In lieu of flowers, the family hopes you will consider a donation to Valley Manor Care Center, Montrose, CO, a national parks environmental protection organization, or the ACLU.

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