Anne Marie Murphy Wins Patch Person of the Year

The voting has closed in the Bedford-Katonah Person of the Year poll and the majority have selected the late Ann Marie Murphy as the 2012 person of the year.

Murphy was a Katonah native and a special education teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School. She died in the tragic shooting in Newtown, CT, that claimed the lives of 26 school teachers, administrators and children.

Murphy's supporters selected her for her devotion to her students and sacrificing her life in order to protect them. Murphy was laid to rest in her hometown on Dec. 20.

Peter and Kevin Helmes, who are partners in the Helmes Group in Katonah, grew up next door to the her family and both remember her as "like a sister" and "one sweetheart of a girl."

Murphy was one of six people nominated and selected through an unscientific poll on Bedford-Katonah Patch.

Congratulations to all who were nominated and thank you to the locals who voted.