Obituary
Beverly Jeanne Bigtree Bagi Murphy passed away April 25th. She was born in Syracuse, NY--the
same year the US entered into WWII. Mother Mary had four brothers who would soon enlist,
and as with many other families at the time, the home became riddled with anxiety. Jeanne
rarely cried as a baby unless sad music came across the radio. Her mom never failed to show
this peculiar heartfelt trait to everyone who came to visit. Soon after Jeanne began to walk, her
feet began to dance and they were in motion until the end. At age 5, she was enrolled in ballet
and tap classes, but because of her quick ability to absorb everything, she was moved into
private lessons at no extra cost. Marjorie was stunned that such a young little girl would ask to
learn steps so she could create her own routines. In 1948, after hearing that “Bojangles”
Robinson was coming to Three Rivers Inn, Phoenix, NY she asked mom and dad to take her.
They arrived and passed word to the manager that a little girl in the audience came with tap
shoes. Jeanne recently spoke of the impact that made when she was invited on stage, taught a
sequence of steps and got to dance alongside Mr. Bojangles! That same year there was cause
for great excitement when it was announced that the NYS Fair would reopen after it’s long stint
as a WWII military base. A huge talent contest was advertised and Jeanne asked her dad,
Norman, to take her. She prepared Doris Day & Buddy Clark’s 1948 hit, “Love Somebody,” and
when asked “Who do you love, little girl?” she replied “my daddy!” Well, she won, and her
debut on Carl Swanson’s “Mr. Sunshine Radio Show” generated so much fan mail that she
became a regular guest. First Sergeant Wayne Schram had recently moved to Syracuse
following his release from a German prison, to begin a new career in radio and TV. He watched
Jeanne’s performances at the studio and invited her to appear on his forthcoming TV show,
“Wayne Schram and the Ozark Mountain Boys,” which would air on Syracuse’s first television
station later that year--WHEN. Jeanne was a natural and now on TV, she could also dance.
Eventually, younger sister Norma teamed up and they became the Bigtree Sisters. They spent a
few years touring all over the state with Wayne and his Mountain Boys—sometimes performing
on the back of wagons or following after the horse acts, which made dancing a real challenge.
Sandy, 9 and 7 years their junior, celebrated her first birthday on the show when she was set
free before a huge birthday cake, clad in only a diaper. Jeanne incorporated Sandy into the act,
but used her more as a prop, until at age 2 the trio sang at the opening of the War Memorial.
Jeanne at 10, became the sole musical arranger and choreographer. This same year, WSYR-TV
became the second network to broadcast in CNY, and in 1952, the Bigtree Sisters were invited
to join Jim DeLine & The Gang’s Saturday morning radio show from the Kemper Building on
Harrison Street. They continued performing weekly from 1952-1963. During the 10-minute
newsbreak in the middle of the show, Jeanne would hand Sox Tiffault the sheet music, note the
key, set the intro, and run through her arrangement. Sox would take notes, transpose on the
spot as did half the Gang, for they’d join in: Jimmy Hogan - drums; Carl Mano - guitar; Norm
Coleman - standup bass; Herb Feltrinelli - trumpet and Ken Drum - sax. They were such great
musicians and really looked forward to Jeanne’s inventive creations. There was such joy,
playfulness, and spontaneity in those early days. The Bigtrees often appeared on TV, and also
joined the Gang on many engagements around town. Exposure on these shows kept mom busy
answering the phone and booking engagements all over CNY from 1948-1963. While the girls
slept, Mom spent long evenings in the basement creating beautifully designed clothes and
intricately embellished costumes. Jeanne unwittingly created a multi-cultural act through her
serious effort to relate to Syracuse’s culturally rich and diverse community. The repertoire often
included lyrics intersperse with Italian, Yiddish, Polish or German lyrics. She choreographed
Mexican hat dances, Irish jigs, Japanese fan dances, and later regrettably had Sandy appear in
black face, etc. The concept of cultural appropriation was not yet fully comprehended, and in
retrospect, how peculiar that this would come from three little Mohawk girls. By high school,
the DeLine Gang had gone through many changes and Jeanne now felt pressure to have
professionally written arrangements. She asked her music theory teacher, Mr. Sidney Novak, to
show her how it was done. He took great joy in teaching her! Jeanne always had the ability to
lighten any room, and sometimes it was a whole auditorium. Later in high school, Carl Silfer,
who directed the Syracuse Pops Orchestra, stopped by the house one day to see if Jeanne
would be interested in choreographing a 25-minute dance sequence to accompany a medley of
“My Fair Lady,” which would be performed by the Pops Orchestra at Central High School’s
Lincoln Auditorium. Without batting an eye, Jeanne said of course. That stage was enormous,
but Jeanne managed to choreograph the entire sequence in a basement 9’ x 15’ dance area--
keeping in mind the need to fill an enormous concert stage. Mom designed numerous costumes
that could be changed within seconds to keep time with the orchestra. The performance was a
huge success, but left us gasping for breath at the end, but as the applause grew louder and
louder, Carl said, “come on girls, let’s do it again! Mom had seconds to gather and reorganize all
the costumes before the intro began. The next season, Jeanne was asked to choreograph
another medley from “Mr. Wonderful,” which she happily agreed to do. Through this whirlwind
of years, Jeanne applied and got accepted to Syracuse University (in spite of having been told
she was not college material by her high school advisor). Jeanne proved them wrong by making
the Dean’s List, being the first in her family to attend college, and at 20 years of age she was
possibly the first Mohawk women to graduate from SU. In 1961 Norma decided to move to
NYC, and Jeanne was asked to follow. The duo began performing in night clubs and was
sometimes joined by Sandy, now 12, on weekends. One weekend in 1963, however, they came
back to sing on the DeLine radio show. While waiting for Jim DeLine’s smiling face to enter the
studio, Floyd Ottoway appeared instead, waving his hands to silence the band. This was when
the paralyzing announcement was made that Jim DeLine had died just hours before the show.
That shock marked for many, the end of an era. Decades later, people expressed how much joy
and laughter was brought into their homes during this period of recovery from the loss of war.
She was a rather terrifying, hilariously funny and incredibly demanding sister, but her sisters
count ourselves lucky and wouldn’t trade one moment. Within a year, Jeanne left the trio to
marry Laszlo Bagi, a professional welterweight boxer, who had been an Olympic contender for
Hungary until he fled the Revolution and immigrated to New York in 1957. They had two sons,
but the marriage dissolved and Jeanne was left to raise her children alone. She dug in, returned
to school and earn an MA, spending the next two decades as a rehabilitation counsellor in NYC.
She was greatly effective and found the work fulfilling. In the early 1980s she dabbled in fiber
arts, which unsurprisingly led to a commissioned work displaying two major wall hangings in
the lobby of the AT&T building in Washington, DC. That same year she competed in a city-wide
42nd Street Broadway promotional tap-dancing contest, which was broadcast live in Manhattan.
By now she was in her mid-40s and competing in a sea of ingenues. When judges asked who
choreographed her routine, they apologized for not having asked that question before they
voted--she took 2nd place. In the late 1980s, Jeanne married Tom Murphy, who unfortunately
was diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s soon after their marriage. She cared for Tom at home in
Boulder, CO, where he died. Through this experience, she advocated before Congress for longterm
assistance for those having to care for their loved ones at home. She became editor of the
Alzheimer’s Association Newsletter in Denver, CO, and published a book about their 11-year
journey through Alzheimer’s entitled “He Used to Be Somebody”—which was something her
husband often said of himself.
Jeanne lived the last decade of her life in Vero Beach, FL, in a beautiful home which displayed
every aspect of her colorful life. Her son Laszlo and wife Wendy moved her from Boulder to
Vero, where they could remain but a few blocks away. Jeanne is survived by her sons: Laszlo
Bagi, wife Wendy and grandchildren Alex, Sophia and Matthew; Norman Bagi, wife Louise and
grandchildren Joseph and Michael. Sisters: Norma and husband Jack Groverland (Del, Syntysche
and Shad); Sandy Bigtree and husband Phil Arnold (Clay and Kroy); and her dearest friend
Loretta DeLorenzo. She is predeceased by father Norman Bigtree (1971); mother Mary Bigtree
(2007); husbands: Laszlo Bagi (1998) and Thomas Murphy (1997).
At her request, there will be no religious service.
Her fortitude and brilliantly remarkable spirit will be forever cherished by her loving family and
friends.