Thelma R. Mullen

Thelma R. (MacDonald) Mullen, passed away peacefully in her home on her 94th birthday at Sunrise of Norwood on Thursday, January 14, 2016. Born in Barre, Vermont on January 14, 1922, she was the daughter of the late Angus and Mary Jane (Reaside) MacDonald.

When Thelma was 5, both Angus and Mary passed away and Thelma's Uncle Gordon and Aunt Jennie took her into their Portsmouth, Rhode Island home to raise and care for her as their own. Her uncle was a member of the local Mason's Lodge and introduced her to their girls youth group, the Rainbow Girls. While she was raised in Portsmouth, she graduated from the Rogers High School in Newport with the Class of 1941.

Shorty after graduation, Thelma began working as a customer service representative for Sears & Roebuck in their Fall River location. It was while working there that she met her soon-to-be-husband Alvin S. Mullen, Jr. They were married on June 25, 1949 in Tiverton, Rhode Island and they settled in Somerville, Massachusetts. After beginning her family, Thelma transitioned from the working world to the role of a homemaker, raising and caring for her family. She and Alvin moved their young family to Roslindale, then to East Dedham, before returning once more to Roslindale. After her Uncle Gordon became ill, she took him into her home to care for him with open arms, the same way that he took her into his home when she was a child.

The whole family, including Uncle Gordon, finally settled in Walpole, Massachusetts in 1963 and in the mid-1960s, Thelma returned to work in the Sears & Roebuck store in Norwood. She was transferred to the Dedham location during the 1970s, after the Norwood store closed, and retired in 1980.

In her retirement, Thelma enjoyed cross stitching, tending to her garden and caring for her grandchildren. She became extremely interested in genealogy, finding and communicating with distant relatives. She often traveled to Barre, Vermont and spent considerable time researching her own lineage. Her research became so extensive that she was able to help others put together the pieces of their own family trees.

She and Alvin moved to Sunrise in Norwood in 2007, which quickly became their new home. Thelma found many new friends among the residents and the staff became a second family to her.

Beloved wife of the late Alvin S. Mullen, Jr.
Loving mother of Gordon F. Mullen, Alvin S. Mullen, III and his wife Ann, all of Walpole and Robert N. Mullen of Fremont, CA.
Cherished grandmother of Libby Mullen of Cambridge and Billy Mullen of Brighton.
Sister of Reta Whitney of Somerset, the late Mavis MacDonald and the late Phyllis J. MacDonald.
Also survived by her nephews Douglas Whitney of Foxboro, David Whitney of Stoughton, Roger Dilworth of Hudson, NH, the late Howard Dilworth and her niece Debi Hayes of Litchfield, NH.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend Thelma's Life Celebration on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 from 3-7 PM in the James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home, 48 Common Street, Walpole. A Funeral Home Service will be held on Thursday, January 21, 2016 at 11:00 AM. Interment will follow in Knollwood Memorial Park in Canton. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Walpole Scholarship Foundation, P.O. Box 58, East Walpole, MA 02032.