Robert A. Mullen, my father, was an amazing man

 

On January 17, 2022, my father, Robert A. Mullen passed away at his home in Denver.  He was an amazing man, father, husband and friend to so many.  I was in awe of his scope of knowledge, his wit, sense of humor and creativity.

He was born in Alexandria, Minnesota on April 28, 1922.  Can you imagine a kid going to school with a cap, bow tie and a lunch basket today?  The car was a Ford Model T coupe.  Henry Ford said you could have it in any color as long as it was black.

The local hardware store was having a contest on who could submit the exact number of keys that were in a large glass jar on the counter.  Well, my dad did and he won the bike.  His father had brought some rope along that day in anticipation that he would.  The funny thing, when they got home, my dad realized he had never ridden a bike before.

He served with the United States Army Air Force during World War II.

After graduating from the University of Minnesota, he ended up in Bemidji, Minnesota, as manager of their first radio station, KBUN. 

It was in Bemidji where he met my mom, Lorraine R. Hedean, who was in her first year of teaching.  

 

 

They were married in June of 1948.  Later they moved to Minneapolis where he was hired to start up the radio station, KEYD, as a commissioned salesman.  He told me he made $21.00 the first month on the job.  He went on to open his own Advertising & Public Relations firm.  Not too many years later, an Alexandria newspaper reported that the ad agency had exceeded a million dollars in billing.  

 

My parents (back left) having dinner at the Copacabana in New York City.

 

 

Out for dinner in Minneapolis, 1948.

 

My brother Carter was born March of 1950.  I was born four years later on July 4th.  After Carter contracted pneumonia two years in a row, my parents said good bye to friends and family, shuttered the agency and moved to Arizona.  My dad went on to open another Advertising and PR agency and it was one of the three oldest agencies in the state.

My parents built a few homes, one in Minneapolis area and two in the valley.  One north of Cave Creek and another in Carefree.  It was the Cave Creek house where I had my own horse and eventually my dad bought a horse and I taught him how to ride.  I think that was the first time I could boss my dad around!  And get away with it.

My dad, on the left, with a student and Headmaster John Yellott at Phoenix Country Day School where Carter and I graduated from.  This was a groundbreaking ceremony for one of the new buildings.  He was a member of the school's Broad of Trustees during the school's formative years. 

Over the course of the years, he had written for both the meek and the mighty.  For a U.S. President (Eisenhower).  For major corporations and start-up companies.  For an army general (Hap Arnold).   After turning the reins of the agency over to Carter, he created a new career in freelance writing for major hospitals around the country.  Mayo Hospital being one of them.  The words he wrote were capital development (fund raising) letters to institutions and resulted in donor gifts which ran into the millions.

This is one of many stories I love.  Phelps Dodge Corporation was one of my dad's clients.  It was the largest copper producer in Arizona and the second largest in the United States.   He came up with an idea to create a free booklet offered by Phelps Dodge as an aid to all those interested in learning first-hand about Arizona's rich historical heritage.  Always as a team, my parents drove all over Arizona identifying and recording the historical markers by the side of the road.  Along with various important historic sites.   This 20-page booklet was given out at one of the main banks in town.  My dad had visions of them not moving and ending up with boxes and boxes of these booklets in his garage.  Well... "History by the side of the road" went into four printings and a run of more than 100,000 copies.   Year 1977.

He loved to fish.  This photo was taken up in Alaska where Carter and my dad were salmon fishing.

For over twenty some years, Carter and my dad would fly down to Ciudad Obregon, Mexico to Wingshooters to go dove and duck hunting.  It was an annual event that they both looked forward to.

In 1988 at my wedding at the University Club in Phoenix.

I attended the Instituto Allende, an art school in San Miguel de Allende,  Guanajuato, Mexico in 1974 and that same year, my parents bought a home in the historic center of town.  They ended up spending almost six months out of the year there.  This is the market where my dad would always buy flowers for my mom. They had to take a cab back to the house for the bundle of flowers was too big the carry.

My parents were always up for an adventure and loved to travel.  The majority of the time they would drive down to the "casa" from Scottsdale which enabled us to take numerous side trips and explore so many parts of Mexico.  Here we were over in Patzcuaro in the state of Michoacan.

A day over in Pozos (near San Miguel de Allende).

A weekend at Las Mananitas in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Many Christmas's were spent in San Miguel de Allende.  Here we are at our second home in town enjoying a wood burning fire, some appetizers and champagne up on the mirador, the rooftop patio that had an incredible view of the Parroquia church.

Their travels went beyond Mexico for they went to Ireland and many parts of Europe.  Besides Mexico, Ireland was their favorite country, one they visited six times.  Here they are standing in front of a lovely Irish cottage.  My dad had told me that in the early years, one's taxes were based on the size and on how many windows the house had! 

Early in their marriage and when Carter and I were young, they went to Europe for a few weeks.  The stories and the people they met were pretty impressive.

Len and my dad on a hike in Crested Butte, Colorado where we would often meet.  My parents driving up from Arizona and Len and I driving down from Denver.

At our home in San Miguel de Allende, Carter and I hosted a 60th year anniversary party for them.

When Carter went to work at the agency with my dad, he said, I can't go around calling you dad so he called him by his initials, RAM, which stuck.  To this day many of my dad's younger friends still called him RAM.  My parents came up to Denver to celebrate his 90th birthday and I had a big party for him.  And part of the decor was this RAM pinata I had made for him. 

After my brother passed away, they moved up to Denver nine years ago this May.  Len and I were fortunate to do so much with them and many of my friends included them in their lives.  Here we are at the Capital Grill celebrating their 68th wedding anniversary.

My mom passed away almost three years ago.  Even though he missed her everyday, he still had the strength and fortitude to look forward to the next day.  This was Christmas morning at my house.

Living alone, he found solace in his writing and he wrote up to the very end.  His RAMblings  touched on life, the political scene, his creative short stories and tales of his life experiences...  Always ending them with "Free thought!  Free speech!  Free Enterprise!"  I have many of his RAMblings that I have printed out and I know others have saved them too.  

His last Christmas card, below, touched so many with his words of wisdom.  Many responded that those words deeply impacted them on how they approached the new year and how to look at life in a kinder and more compassionate manner.  Actually one friend of my mom's framed it.

I could go on and on and on about the full life my father had.  He was blessed to have a loving wife of 72 years.  He would always say, "Your mother and I liked the same things and disliked the same things."   He had two children (Carter and me) in which they dearly treasured.  And a son-in-law, Len Waldmann, in which they considered their second son.   

He had a successful career, many, many friends, 3 1/2 months shy of 100 years and died suddenly in his own home.  We are saddened that he is no longer with us but find comfort that he did not suffer and that he lived and died on his own terms.   

He will always be the king of Advertising & PR and creative writing in my book.   Check the post I wrote about his "Corona Beer" photo and the "slogans" he came up with.  Right on and pretty funny.  Post:  April 20, 2021.

Dad, you will forever be missed.  Thank you for being such a great father, friend, mentor and for all the adventures we shared as a family.  He was so supportive of me and proud of all my accomplishments.  It was he who encouraged me to start leading tours to Mexico over 12 years ago.  And that has turned into a wonderful venture and opened up so many other doors and friendships.

Love you for ever,  your daughter Robin.

 

Robert A. Mullen

April 28, 1922 - January 17, 2022

 

 

 

My dad, Robert A. Mullen, turns 99!

 

My dad, Robert A. Mullen, also known as RAM for his initials, turns 99 on April 28!  AND he is amazing.  Most of his life, he has worked and he will always be the king of Advertising & PR and creative writing in my book. 

We are in constant awe of the bad commercials, ads in magazines, just the poor stuff that is out there in the world to day.  I could go on, and on, and on, but I will not.  

But I thought you would get a kick out of my sharp dad on what he emailed me the other day.

"On the east wall of my bathroom there is one of my prize photos which has a sole Mexican seated perfectly in the bull arena in San Miguel de Allende.  Not another sole.  It was one of those magic moments when everything was right... the sun, the composition.  There is a Corona Beer sign on the pony wall below him.  I looked at it today and it dawned on me what a great ad it would make.  Just the photo.  The advertiser's logo is already in the image.  And in our pandemic age of isolation the headline would be all the copy needed:

To those who must drink alone!"

He then signed off with, 

"Anyway, I will hit the hay. Forgive my creative juices.  Long may they run."

Then the next day I received a revision for his Corona campaign:

"When you need a friend."

 

A big Happy Birthday to my wonderful and creative Dad!!!

 

 

My Dad turned 95 over the weekend

Friday my Dad, Bob or RAM, had his 95th birthday.  My brother, Carter, called him RAM.  He said he could not go around the office calling him "Dad", so RAM came from his initials.  And it stuck and many to this day still call him RAM.
I had to come up with something special for his big birthday so I went thru a lot of my photos to make a two-sided photo "Birthday Mobile".   The photo above was taken of him at the age of six with his lunch basket.

32 photos hung from ribbons that were attached to a thin bamboo stick that rested on the top of the dining room light fixture.

There was a gap of a few years since many of the photos I shot were slides.

"RAM" in Alaska on a salmon fishing trip with Carter.

In 1948, he put the radio station KBUN on the air in Bemidji, Minnesota and that is where my parents met.  My mom had here first teaching job there, fresh out of school from Miss Woods Teaching College in Minneapolis. They would have breakfast at the same diner and that is when Bob spotted Lorraine.  The rest is history.   They will celebrating their 69th anniversary this June!

His 68th birthday at our first house in San Miguel de Allende.

I found THE perfect cocktail napkin for the occasion, Happy Birthday Handsome!   I had planned a dinner party for Friday and Saturday night.

The first night we had Mushroom Croustades and mixed nuts for appetizers.  Followed by a Caesar salad and a roasted poblano stuffed with shrimp, zucchini, onion and cheese that sat on a roasted tomato, roasted red pepper, cilantro and garlic sauce.

One thing I especially enjoy when entertaining is setting an unusual table.  I  bought these talavera shallow bowls (all with a different scene) in Seville, Spain and I found the vintage linens at an outdoor antique market in Aix de Provence, France.

One of my favorite desserts, Coffee-Toffee-Chocolate Torte, that serves 14 to 16.  You can find this recipe on by post dated August 18, 2016.  The best part of this recipe, besides being sinfully delicious, is that you can make it a week in advance!

My Dad and George have known each other for around 40 years.  Back then, my Dad had the agency, Mullen Advertising and Public Relations in Scottsdale.  George was one of his clients and he created a very successful logo for George's commercial real estate company, Illif Thorn and Co.  Now my parents are living in Denver and George and his wife are here too.  Great stories were told that evening.

Saturday's dinner party, we started with shrimp cakes and a Shiracha mayo sauce and these zucchini rolls filled with a herbed goat cheese. 

A different venue for Saturday's table setting...  Mexican plates from Dolores Hidalgo, Mexican wine glasses from San Miguel de Allende, bobble-head horses and cowboys from the Friday market in Patzcuaro, ceramic black and white chickens from Ametenango del Valle in the state of Chiapas and hand-carved wood donkeys from San Miguel.  Pretty festive.

The menu that night was a salad, creamy cornbread cooked in my dad's mother's cast iron skillet right out of the oven and grilled chicken sitting on a bed of julienned, sauteed jicama with a jalapeno vinegar cream sauce.  And of course, the Coffee-Toffee-Chocolate Torte.

Fred and Suzy composed a tremendous two page poem commemorating my dad's life.  Very cleverly written. 

And to top it off , they even made a large poster for him with stickers and such nice praise, "Radio, out doors man, equestrian, Taurus, Adman, writer, dove hunter, excellence, wit, Mexico, Lorraine, nifty, exceptional, responsible, old school, bone fide, educated, reliable, teddy bear, accomplished, elegant writing, magnificent, unsurpassed, effervescent, nice guy."  Suzy said, that 100 years old will even be better.

It was a great birthday weekend and thank you all for the birthday cards and Facebook greeting!  He loved every minute of it.

My Dad's 90th Birthday Party

Saturday (April 28th)was my Dad's 90th birthday.  His initials are RAM and my brother, Carter, and many of his male friends have always called him Ram.  So I decided to have a big blue ram pinata made just for the occasion!  When my Dad, Bob, first saw it, he just roared.

I invited some of my friends that have known my parents for ever and have spent time with them when they are at my home in Denver.  Many of these friends have visited my parents in Scottsdale and some have even spent time with all of us at our home in San Miguel de Allende.  
Denny and Judy were some of the first to arrive for the big birthday party.

I made an array of hors d'oeuvres.  The bruschetta above consists of cambozola cheese, fig preserve, chopped sun dried cranberries and roasted pine nuts.  
I hired a couple that has helped at a few of my larger parties.  It is such a treat not having to be in the kitchen during the party and NOT having to wash all the dishes. 
The other served hors d'oeuvres were  individual shots of gazpacho,  smoked salmon served on a crostinni with mascarpone cheese and mushroom croustades.

I made my Dad's favorite, my famous Tuna Carpaccio served in Chinese soup spoons.  Each spoon consists of a few layers of ingredients.  First 3 mini croutons made from a baguette, a slice or two of lean fresh tuna fillet, a dollop of wasabi mayonnaise topped with a mixture of sliced scallions, chopped pickled ginger and chopped jalapenos and then sprinkled with black roasted sesame seeds.  Pure heaven.

The only hors d'oeuvre that I did not pass was my goat cheese that had drizzled a combination of thinly sliced garlic, chopped rosemary, brandy and olive oil over it a few hours before everyone arrived.  And the good old stand by, I had a big bowl of the mixed nuts from Costco out on the patio.  Of course the weather was in the 80's the week before they arrived and I was holding my breath that the weather that evening would hold out.  It turned out to be a pretty nice evening, a tad cool but thank goodness it was not windy like the day before and it did not rain.  Being under the covered patio helped tremendously too.

Bob was eating up all the attention... hugs, kisses, stories, a limerick from Judy and Denny, a limerick from my Dad...  Laura was hilarious that evening, but what's new...

Suzy was hugging and smooching my Dad too.  Her hands were freezing and while he was loving the attention, her cold hands were not that welcome.

 

Of course all the husbands were there but I am sure Bob would rather have a photo with all the ladies than with all the men.  Top row: Judy, Kathy, Laura, Karen and Suzy. Then Me and my parents, Bob and Lorraine.

I know everyone had a good time.  The time on invitation was from 5 to 7.  Everyone left around 8:45 and they seemed reluctant to leave!  

Happy Birthday Dad!