John E Mullen

John Edward Mullen, age 69, died peacefully at his home on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, 2024, after a long illness. John was born John Edward Morris in Gary, Indiana to parents John Commodore Morris and Eva M. Mullen Morris. John was a beloved husband, father, Pa Pa, cousin, friend, brother and uncle who is survived by wife Sandy, 2 sons, Tony (Jon) and wife Amber and David, daughter-in-law Kerry Hagen Mullen, Grandsons Matthew (17), Willie (3) and Eddie (1), 4 Stasak brothers all living in Las Vegas, Richard (and Lisa), Scott, Ronnie, Mark (and Monica). Many friends, cousins, nieces and nephews. And we must not forget his beloved dog, Wally. He is preceded in death by his Mother Eva (Mullen) Stasak and Step-father Richard Stasak. When he was 7 years old he was legally adopted by his Maternal Grandparents, Edward I. Mullen and Lenora Mullen and his name was legally changed to John Mullen. They raised him from birth and were more like parents to him. When they both passed, he lived with his Aunt Barb (Mullen) Victery and Uncle Bob Victery. They became his new parents. He attended school in his early years at Emerson Elementary School in Gary. That is when he got to be a very fast runner because he had to run home from school being chased by bullies every day. That motivated him to join the Track Team where he excelled with speed. He moved in with his Aunt and Uncle and went to Thomas A. Edison High School in Lake Station, IN where he played on the football team and graduated in 1973. After graduation, he and a few of his high school buddies moved to Florida for a while to have some guy fun in the sun. He returned home and started work at U.S. Steel in Gary, IN. He married the love of his life, Sandy, in 1976 in Wheeler, IN. They were married for 48 years. They bought their 1st home in Lake Station, IN. When the recession hit in the late 70’s, he was laid off from U.S. Steel. In order to try and make ends meet he started working at his stepfather Richard’s horse stables, training and caring for race horses. In 1980 he took a trip down to Texas to see if he could find employment there. His sister-in-law Mickie and her family lived there. Houston was booming with jobs and the warm weather really appealed to him, so he relocated Sandy and their 2 sons to Houston that same year. He got a good job at Capitol Steel but after a couple of years, the recession found its way to Houston and he got laid off. He had many, many jobs over the years. He was a window washer, worked for South Texas Stone for many years and got laid off again. After much consideration, he went and got certified as a Bartender at Professional Bartenders school. His wife was very grateful that he was a sober bartender. She used to joke with him that he was more like a psychiatrist and that was a very honorable profession. He started his bartending career at the Hourglass Disco, then Mike and Tony’s, Concessions Management Services and finally his last bartending job at the Horseshoe Pub. In 1990, the owner of the Horseshoe Pub sold his house in Cy-Fair to John and Sandy. That is where they lived until is death on Thanksgiving Day. In 1995 John decided that it was time for a new career and was hired by D&E Plumbing. He did new residential plumbing until about 2007. Then he was offered the opportunity to be the on call plumber for night time emergencies, so he accepted that position. It was a true blessing because his oldest grandson Matthew was born in 2007 and his parents needed someone to watch him in the daytime while they worked. John started caring for Matthew and it was one of the biggest blessings of his life. It was a very precious bond that lasted until his last day because Matthew and his Mom ended up moving in with him in 2013 and are here, to this day. They were both very committed to helping to care for him. In about 2019, John started feeling bad. He wouldn’t go to a doctor because he wanted to wait until after Tony and Amber’s wedding on Nov. 17, 2019. After the wedding he finally went to a doctor and was diagnosed with colon cancer. It was a rough 5 years after that with the cancer spreading to his lungs. He also had triple bypass surgery in 2020 at the height of COVID. He did chemo a lot and fought many, many health issues. He never complained and never gave up until the very end. His dream was to see his Matthew graduate from high school next year. He didn’t make the world ceremony but Sandy believes that he will have the very best seat possible. While he was chair bound, he started painting oil paintings on his phone. He would send Sandy 5 or so per day. Many are on display throughout his home. There are hundreds and hundreds of them. His daughter-in-law Kerry has been trying to get him to say the sinner’s prayer for years. (Sandy already believed that he was going to heaven). 2 days before his passing, on Nov. 26th, Kerry was visiting with him and he told her that he wanted to say the prayer. Before that his speech was very difficult to understand but when he repeated the prayer she said that each word was clear and concise. He looked at her and said that he was going home and he closed his eyes and just smiled. That was the last conversation that he had. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Houston First Church of God, https://www.hfcog.org/give The Addison family and staff of Magnolia Funeral Home extend condolences to the Mullen family during this difficult time.

John E Mullen

November 28, 2024