Christine Murphy, 63, executive & ex-revenue commissioner

THE CAREER of M. Christine Murphy made it clear to anyone who doubted it that women make good bosses.

Back in the administration of Mayor W. Wilson Goode, Christine, who was the revenue commissioner, was cited as one of the six female city officials who were really running the city.

"The city's revenue commissioner is the keeper of the bank vaults," an Inquirer writer noted in 1988.

"Knowing how much tax money is actually flowing into city coffers, she is in a powerful backroom position to tell the mayor how much is left to pay bills and salaries."

A trained accountant, Christine was the first woman partner in the Philadelphia office of Arthur Young & Co., now Ernst & Young.

Then there were her appointments to various boards of for-profit and nonprofit organizations, her job as executive vice president of an environmental engineering firm, and chairwoman and CEO of a successful Philadelphia candy company.

"Throughout her life, Chris strived to be an example for women," her family said.

Christine Murphy, a classic wit who liked to make people laugh and who always said her true love was her family, died Tuesday after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. She was 63 and lived in Haverford.

Her no-nonsense approach to women's rights got a jump- start when she showed up at an all-male class at Drexel University to work toward her master's degree in business administration, and the teacher told her she must have been in the wrong class.

"Actually, I am in the right class," she said.

She went on to prove that she was in the right place throughout her career.

She was born in Philadelphia to Joseph C. Murphy and Anna Ruth Hancuff. She graduated from Notre Dame Academy in Villanova.

She earned her bachelor's degree in business administration from Stonehill College, in Easton, Mass. After receiving her master's, she was certified as a CPA by the state.

She joined Arthur Young in Minneapolis and became a partner. She returned to Philadelphia in 1985 and was looking for something to do when a friend encouraged her to talk with then-City Finance Director Richard Gilmore and Mayor Goode about the revenue commissioner's job.

"Two months later, I was revenue commissioner," she said at the time.

During her three years in the job, she waged a successful campaign against tax delinquents by creating a tax-amnesty program, increasing city revenue by millions.

Goode said Christine "provided strong, resourceful leadership" over the department, which then employed 900 full-time workers with an annual budget of $42 million.

Christine also cited improved computerization and the introduction of handheld computers used by meter readers that resulted in more efficient billing for the Water Department among her innovations.

"There have been many proud moments," she said. "Just watching the people in this department perform up to their fullest abilities and doing great things."

When she left the city she became executive vice president, chief financial officer and director of Roy F. Weston Inc., an environmental engineering and consulting firm in West Chester.

In 1990, she and her husband, Sidney Donald Rosenblatt, bought S. Zitner, the North Philadelphia candy company.

The firm often hired welfare recipients for seasonal work.

"I want to hire the lady who makes spaghetti for her kids," she said.

In 2009, Mayor Nutter appointed Christine to a task force on tax policy and economic competitiveness. Its goal was to evaluate the city's tax structure with an eye toward determining which policies made the city less competitive.

Christine also was on the boards of Sovereign Bank, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Overbrook School for the Blind, Visiting Nurse Association of Greater Philadelphia and the Forum of Executive Women, of which she had served as president.

"Above all else, Chris was known and loved for her sense of humor," her family said. "Her wit and love for making people laugh left everlasting memories of joy in those who survive her.

"Her husband insists that her comical gift was not the joke itself, but watching her cry with laughter before she could get to the punchline."

Besides her husband of 24 years, she is survived by her twins, Anna Ruth and David Harry Rosenblatt; a brother, Michael, and sister, Marianne Marino.

Services: 10 a.m. tomorrow at the D'Anjolell Memorial Home of Broomall, 2811 West Chester Pike, Broomall. Friends may call at 6:30 this evening and 9 a.m. tomorrow at the funeral home. Burial will be in Ss. Peter & Paul Cemetery, Marple.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Overbrook School for the Blind, 6333 Malvern Ave., Philadelphia 19151, or Delaware Valley Chapter of Alzheimer's Association, 399 Market St., Philadelphia 19106.