James G. Orphan, 81, a former village attorney for Morton Grove, died Wednesday in St. Francis Hospital in Evanston after a lengthy illness. Mr. Orphan spent most of his life in Morton Grove, where he attended grammar school and high school before graduating from Loyola University. He subsequently went to law school at DePaul University, but his studies were interrupted by World War II. Shortly after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Mr. Orphan joined the Marines and began active service on Dec. 29, 1941, according to his wife, Elizabeth. He served in the Pacific theater. When he returned four years later he met his future wife at his family’s restaurant, Murphy’s Steak House, where she was dining with her sister and brother-in-law. “He said, `Do you play bridge?’ ” Mrs. Orphan recalled. “And my sister said, `Oh sure she does.’ I never played a hand in my life. We learned to play, and then we had him over. We were married within a year.” Mr. Orphan finished his law studies in 1947 and went to work for a Chicago law firm, but left to open a private practice in Morton Grove in 1949. He spent several years serving municipalities, including 12 as corporation counsel for Morton Grove. He was the founding attorney for the Morton Grove and Niles Park District Boards. He is a past president of the Morton Grove Lions Club. Other survivors include two sons, Ronald and Raymond; a brother, Michael; and five grandchildren. Mass was said Saturday in Morton Grove.
