JANE MURPHY LEIGHTON

1929 - 2021

MURPHY LEIGHTON, Jane Professor and Pioneering Epidemiologist Passed away peacefully on February 9, 2021 after a stroke. She was 91 and had been working and living independently until her last day. Dr. Murphy was born in Denver, Colorado, October 9, 1929. She received a B.A. from Phillips University in 1951 and a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1960. She was a Professor of Psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and a Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Murphy lived with indigenous peoples in Alaska in the 1950s to learn about their concept of mental illness and carried out cross-cultural studies in Nigeria and Vietnam. In 1966, she married Alexander H. Leighton and together they continued and extended the seminal Stirling County Study in psychiatric epidemiology, the longest running study of its kind to understand the prevalence and types of mental illness across generations in a cross-cultural community. Dr. Murphy served as Director of the study from 1975 until her death. Widely published, Dr. Murphy made contributions to the literature on cross-cultural psychiatry, the prevalence of depression in communities, and continuities in community-based psychiatric epidemiology. She served on the Executive Committee of a Section of the World Psychiatric Association and on the Council of the Association for Clinical and Psychosocial Research. She is a recipient of a Rema Lapouse Award from the American Public Health Association and the Harvard Award in Psychiatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Dr. Murphy was a pioneer in her field and for women in academia. Jane found her own path when many women of her time did not see options. She pursued a life of research to better understand the world around her and help others lead more fulfilling lives. While her career is remarkable for its outstanding achievements, she will also be remembered for her independence, tenacity, kindness, and intelligence. Jane was an inspiration and mentor to many, beloved by her colleagues and friends, and cherished by her loving family. She was an excellent listener and adviser. She will be especially missed by her grandchildren, and nieces and nephews, who visited often and felt a kinship far beyond the miles. As a naturally curious person Jane enjoyed the process of teaching and learning, especially about nature, history, places, and people. Her capacity for conversation and learning was boundless. She and Alec, her husband, academic partner, and soulmate, shared these pursuits. Together they traveled the world for their work, explored and protected the natural world, welcomed all into their home, and cultivated a life of deep intellectual stimulation and enduring love. Dr. Jane Murphy Leighton was preceded in death by her husband, Alexander Leighton, brothers, James Murphy and David Murphy, and nephew, Gregory Murphy. She is survived by her brother, Daniel Murphy, stepdaughter, Doreen Leighton, stepson, Ted Leighton, and stepgrandchildren, Patrick Leighton, Margaret Leighton, Catherine Uehara, Dorothea Uehara, and Simon Walker, as well as nieces, Cynthia Murphy, Julie Murphy Seavy, Jennifer Murphy, Deborah Murphy Choubai, and Laura Murphy Hamilton, and nephews, Thomas Murphy, Paul Murphy, and Timothy Murphy. Memorial services will be held in Nova Scotia and Boston at a later date. Dr's. Murphy and Leighton enjoyed a long association with Digby County, Nova Scotia, and helped make local history more available to the public through the Wilson Collier Committee. The committee focuses on identifying, preserving, and connecting historical writings and photographs of The Bay of Fundy to the stories and lives of the people there, past and present. Donations in Dr. Murphy's name may be made to the Wilson Collier Committee at the Western Counties Regional Library Charitable Association, 405 Main Street, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia B5A 1G3, Canada.