Edward Lile Murphree Jr.

Edward Lile Murphree, Jr., 91, of Oakton, Virginia, passed away December 26, 2023 at his home in Oakton. He was born July 26, 1932, in Okolona, Mississippi to Edward Lile and Gladys Dickson Murphree.

Known to family and friends as ‘Lile,’ he was a lifelong academic, completing the following degrees:

• Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, 1967

• Master of Arts in Mathematics, University of Mississippi, 1960

• Master of Science in Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1958

• Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, University of Mississippi, 1954

His professional experience covered three areas: University professor and researcher in computer technology, operations research, construction management, and organizational theory; administrator and manager in academia, government, and private business; and professional consultant to industry and governments.

Lile was honored as a member of Chi Epsilon, Honorary Civil Engineering Fraternity in 1952.

From 1955 through 1957, Lile served on active duty as an officer in the U. S. Air Force. He remained in the reserves until 1968 when he was honorably discharged with the rank of Captain.

In 1961, he became a Registered Professional Engineer, State of Mississippi.

From 1959 through 1962, Lile was the founding Director of the University of Mississippi Computer Center. During his tenure, he directed the transition from vacuum tube technology to large scale, mainframe operation with satellite computers at remote locations.

Lile was Division Chief of the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, Champaign, Illinois, from 1969 through 1975 where he was responsible for the design and implementation of large-scale computer software for managing the Army’s construction programs.

In 1971, he received the Army’s highest award, The Research and Development Achievement Award for application of the systems approach to the management of airfield pavement.

In 1975, The Department of the Army awarded Lile a Certificate of Achievement for organizing R & D programs and personnel to support Military Construction and Facilities Engineering R & D Programs.

From 1975-1985, he was President of Sage Systems Corporation, a small consulting firm in Urbana, Illinois, specializing in operations research and related activities. The firm conducted worldwide consulting for UNIDO in Vienna, Austria, for the U.S. Government, and many private clients. He was a pioneer in the use of the computer for litigation of construction claims, performing mainframe computer analyses of the performance of a tunnel boring machine in Montreal, Quebec; construction of the foundation of a large fossil fuel power plant in Nebraska; buildings in Illinois and Indiana; and an Interstate Highway segment in Missouri. Among his projects -- for the United Nations, construction plans for a large ammonia plant, and a bulk seaport in Brazil; for the U.S. State Department, preparation of construction plans using microcomputer software for two multi-story office buildings in South America; and, for a government client, preparation of a benefit/cost analysis for a large computer-based architectural and engineering design system.

Lile was also a teacher. In his early academic appointments, from 1958-1962, he taught Mathematics and Civil Engineering courses at the University of Mississippi.

From 1964-1983, he lectured in Civil Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Operational Research, and Architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign campus.

In 1985, Lile joined the George Washington University, Washington, DC. where he began as Professor of Engineering Administration and led the graduate program in construction management. He had many roles at GW during his twenty-eight-year tenure. He taught graduate courses (both on and off campus) and did research in his areas of interest. He was chairman of the Department of Engineering Management from 1991 to 1997. As lead professor of Engineering Management, his contributions were curriculum development, research grants, participating in conferences, panel discussions, and mentoring students. He then served as founding chair of the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering from 1997 to 1998 and director of the SEAS Virginia Campus programs from 1998 to 2001. Each year he had many doctoral students and enjoyed working with and directing their dissertations. During his career at the University, he published numerous papers in technical journals and presented papers at both national and international venues. He was elected a Life Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1997 and served as a member of the Construction Research Council (which he co-founded). Lile also reviewed papers for the ASCE Journal of Construction Management and Engineering and for the ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering.

In both 2009 and 2012, he received Professor of the Year awards from the Engineers’ Council, Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering.

In 2013, Lile retired from the George Washington University as Professor Emeritus of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering. In retirement, until 2021, he continued to review papers for ASCE Journals.

Lile was a complex man with many outside interests. In addition to his professional life, Lile was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Urbana, Illinois. He enjoyed various activities including his life-long passion for photography. He made three trips to Africa to photograph animals in the wild. Lile aspired to photograph and publish a book on large Cats of the world. At his death, he lacked photographing only the jaguar. Lile loved dogs, especially Boston terriers. For more than thirty years, he and his wife opened their hearts and home to rescue Boston terriers that were older and in need of loving care. Lile enjoyed classical music and gourmet cooking. He collected cookbooks and referenced then often. During the past year, Lile welcomed weekly visits from his Ole Miss friend and engineering classmate, Patrick, who challenged him to read and discuss books, to review technical projects, and to keep up-to-date on the latest in technology.

Lile is survived by his wife, Patsy Hinson Murphree, whom he married 64 years ago in Nettleton, Mississippi. They were blessed with three children: Lisa Walston (Douglas) Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; Julie Holtzer, (Donald) Bristow, Virginia; Edward (Ted) Murphree (Marisol) San Antonio, Texas and six grandchildren: Benton and Peyton Walston; Andreas, Bryan, and Benjamin Holtzer; and, Madailein Murphree. He is also survived by two Shepherd nieces, (Susan Sanders. Aberdeen, Mississippi, and Eva Ann Shepherd, Houston, Texas), a nephew, (Tommy Shepherd, Madison, Mississippi) and their extended families.

Lile was preceded in death by his parents, Edward Lile and Gladys Dickson Murphree; his only sister, Mary Ann Shepherd, and her husband, Banks Shepherd.