Mary E. Mullen

MULLEN, Mary Elizabeth (Gallagher), 89, passed away on Saturday, January 22, 2011 at the Sawtelle Family Hospice House in Reading, Massachusetts after a lengthy illness. Mary was born in Boston to James Michael and Mary Ellen Nolan Gallagher on January 19, 1922. She leaves a son, Thomas A. Mullen, of Wakefield, Massachusetts, a daughter, Mary K. Yackley, of Lunenberg, Vermont, grandsons Anthony and Christopher Mullen of Wakefield, a brother, John Gallagher, of West Roxbury, and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband of 53 years, Thomas J. Mullen, who died in 2008. Mary lived in Wakefield for 18 years before moving to Reading in 1983. Educated by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur at St. Joseph's School in Boston and the Boston Academy of Notre Dame, Mary graduated from Emmanuel College in 1943. She went to work at the John Hancock Life Insurance Company where she trained others in life insurance law and accounting and was the first woman in the company to become a Fellow of the Life Office Management Association. Mary left work to raise her children and later taught English at Browne Junior High School in Malden, where she worked for 20 years. Following her retirement, she devoted herself to writing poetry, publishing more than 1,000 poems and averaging one publication or prize per week for more than 20 years. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts State Poetry Society, Inc. Funeral from the Doherty - Barile Family Funeral Home, 11 Linden St. READING Friday at 9:30am followed by a Funeral Mass celebrating Mary's Eternal Life in St. Athanasius Church, 300 Haverhill St. Reading at 10:30am. Family and friends are cordially invited to gather and share remembrances with the Family on Thursday from 4-8pm in the Funeral Home. Interment Holy Cross Cemetery, Malden. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mary's memory may be made to Angel Flight New England 492 Sutton Street, N. Andover, MA 01845.