SXU mourns the loss of Mary Rita Stump
Saint Xavier University (SXU) mourns the loss of Mary Rita (Murphy) Stump, who passed away at the age of 88. Mary Rita, along with her husband Robert, were longtime supporters of Saint Xavier, with their contributions recognized by the University with the renaming of its library after the couple in 2008.
Mary Rita's connection to Saint Xavier stems from her father, Morgan Murphy Sr., who was a longtime supporter and advisor to SXU and was named as one of the first lay members of the Board of Trustees in 1967 and was later named a life trustee.
Though Mary Rita did not attend SXU, her sister, Carol Stump, R.S.M. '65, is a graduate, and her brother, the late Congressman Morgan F. Murphy, served as an SXU trustee.
Owners of a moving company, Mary Rita and her husband are the largest single contributor in the history of SXU, donating more than 9 million dollars to the University since 1998. It was then when Mary Rita attended an event with her daughter and was "moved to tears" hearing the University's president at the time, Dr. Richard Yanikoski, describe the University's mission and the board's vision to provide quality education in the southwest suburbs.
Since then, the Stumps have been strongly connected to the University. Mary Rita served on the Mary's Circle Committee and the President's Advisory Council, with her husband serving as a member of SXU's Orland Park Campus Advisory Council. The couple donated the real estate upon which Orland Park campus was built.
The Stumps, who had been married for more than 60 years, had three children: SXU alumna Mary Judith O'Malley '95, son Robert Stump and son Morgan, who is now deceased.
The Stump family legacy continues through their daughter Mary Judith who oversees the Robert and Mary Rita Stump Family Perpetual Scholarship Fund that was established in 2006.
The memorial visitation will be held Monday, April 16 from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Robert J. Sheehy & Sons Funeral Home, 9000 W. 151st Street, Orland Park, Ill. The funeral service is scheduled for Tuesday, April 17 at 9:15 a.m. at the funeral home. Mass will take place at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of the Woods Church in Orland Park before the procession to the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place Memphis, Tenn.
Please keep the entire Stump family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.