Kenneth Allen Mullen (1930-2004)

Kenneth was born on July 24, 1930 in Taylorville, Illinois to Edward R Mullen and Phyllis Hord Mullen. He spent his childhood in Westchester, Illinois. He later married Lois Wallskog and settled in Villa Park, Illinois where they raised seven children: Guy, Scott, Betsy Smejkal, and Todd who reside in Illinois, Erin Pugh, who lives in Wisconsin, and Bonnie Relford, who lives in Colorado. Kenneth was the oldest son in the family; he had five siblings. Rose Mary Monihan, Dixilie Banowetz Raffa, Colleen Antoinette Helm, and Gerald Edwin Mullen all deceased. His youngest brother, Philip, lives in California.

Kenneth's family moved from Decatur Illinois to Westchester in 1942, a western suburb of Chicago. During the remainder of his childhood there, Kenneth was very active in the Boy Scouts and Sea Scouts where he earned most of the achievements available. He attended Proviso High school and then in 1949 he joined the US Navy. He was hoping to be assigned to sea duty probably influenced by his experience with the Sea Scouts. However, one of his many skills was mechanics which he excelled at from an early age. After undergoing his initial training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center near Waukegan, Illinois, the Navy recognized his mechanical skills and assigned him to vehicle maintenance at Patuxent River Naval Station in Maryland where he unhappily spent his entire enlistment.

After his disappointing but successful career in the Navy, Kenneth was honorably discharged and returned to his home in Westchester. For a short time he was employed at the Hines Veterans Hospital. He was also employed as a short-order cook, another skill he truly enjoyed. However, as time went by he met and married Lois Wallskog, a neighbor who lived two doors away. At this time he went to work for Burroughs Business Machine Corp where he once again relied on his mechanical skills repairing complex banking and office equipment for many years throughout the Chicago area. He established a reputation for high quality and reliable service, which led financial institutions to frequently request him for servicing their systems. Most of his life, Kenneth and his family resided in Villa Park, Illinois except for a brief period when they lived in Texas.

Kenneth Allen Mullen passed away August 24, 2004 in Villa Park, IL; he was 74 years old.