Wayne Joseph Mullen

Wayne Joseph Mullen was born on April 13, 1942, in Gary, Indiana, to John and Evalyne Mullen. He was raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he attended Manual High School. He graduated from Wilmington College in Ohio with a degree in history and government and then obtained his teaching certification from Western Washington University and his master’s degree from WWU in reading. He taught for one year in Blaine, but his true teaching home was Samish School in the Sedro-Woolley School District, where he taught grades 4 and 5 for 29 years. He then substituted in Samish and Big Lake Schools following his retirement. Wayne said, “I didn’t get stuck in 5th grade – I got to BE an 11-year-old for 29 extra years.” He loved reading to his students. The Phantom Toll Booth was a favorite of his. For several years he coached the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade soccer team at Samish. His rule was “everybody plays.” He was good at teaching kids to play as a team, and they did well. His hobbies were reading, acting in plays and musicals, hiking, barbershop singing, and dogs. He read the entire Harry Potter series, all seven books, several times. He performed in plays at Bellingham Theatre Guild, Skagit Valley College, Sudden Valley, and numerous Gilbert & Sullivan operettas with Friends of Fairhaven, and he and his wife Karen met while both performing in “Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Cinderella,” a madcap Roy Bentley production at the Theatre Guild. He loved hiking in the local mountains, especially with teacher friends, and Church Mountain was his favorite place. He sang with The Toppers men’s competition barbershop chorus for many years and later with The Blend, a more casual chorus. Wayne loved dogs—from Bear the Newfoundland mix he had when he and Karen met, to Sparky and Presley, his dog family when he passed. He did agility and nose work (recreational canine scent detection) with Merlyn, a rescued Havanese, and then nose work with Presley, a mostly-poodle. He would gladly cross the street to meet and pet any dog. He came to love the family’s Ragdoll cats, too. Wayne was a student of the Civil War and was intending to become a licensed battlefield guide at Gettysburg. He spent large parts of two summers back at Gettysburg studying, each time with one of the family dogs as a travel companion in the RV. Unfortunately, health problems intervened, and he never got to achieve that dream. Wayne and Karen married in 2004 after 15 years of spending much of their time together. They enjoyed traveling by car and cruise ship, singing together, being in plays together, and dog activities. Wayne passed his “expiration date” by 13 years, surviving stage IV melanoma, but on September 2, 2022, succumbed to complications of COVID-19 following a craniotomy for a subdural hematoma. Wayne was a gentle, patient soul with a generous, loving spirit and a strong moral compass. He is survived by his wife, Karen, and children Dirk and Celeste from a previous marriage, together with siblings Marlowe (& Donna) Mullen of Indianapolis, Indiana; Denise Mullen of County Wicklow, Ireland; and Alan Mullen of Fort Myers, Florida; and four nieces and a nephew. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Douglas. A Celebration of Wayne’s life will be held on Friday, October 28, 1:00pm at Moles Farewell Tributes – Bayview Chapel, 2465 Lakeway Dr, Bellingham, WA 98229. Please consider a memorial donation to The John & Evalyne Mullen Memorial Fund, University of Indianapolis, 1400 E. Hanna Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46227, RE: The John & Evalyne Mullen Memorial Fund or to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.

Wayne Joseph Mullen

April 13, 1942 - September 2, 2022