Walter John Mullen Jr.

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Walter J. Mullen Jr., 92, passed away Monday, June 20 at Dogwood Forest of Dunwoody, Atlanta, Georgia. Cause of death was complications from congestive heart failure. He was born June 14, 1919 in Boston and raised in Springfield, Mass., the son of Dr. and Mrs. Walter J. Mullen. He attended Cathedral High School in Springfield. He excelled in academics and in football, earning scholarships and graduating from Morristown Prep and Brown University. Upon graduation from Brown at the height of World War II, he joined the US Army where he served 20 years, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel, with service in Japan, Germany, Korea and several stateside posts, including an ROTC professorship. Following his military career he served for 20 years as a systems analyst for the United States Social Security Administration in Maryland. Upon his retirement, he became an expert in computerized charting of stock market performance, and consulted regularly on that subject. He was married for 65 years to DeEtta Jane Baker of Detroit, Michigan, who predeceased him in 2008. Following his worldwide military postings, Col. and Mrs. Mullen made their homes in Baltimore & Columbia, Maryland (where they resided for 40 years) and Titusville, Florida. For the past two years he has resided in assisted living at Dogwood Forest to be near his daughter and her family. He is survived by two sisters, Eleanor Raleigh and Margaret Savage both of Massachusetts. A brother James predeceased him. He is also survived by three children, Jeanne Mullen Merdek of Atlanta, Georgia, a therapist and consultant affiliated with Peachford Behavioral Health System and her husband Andrew Merdek of Sandy Springs (Retired General Counsel of Cox Enterprises, Inc.); Walter John "Jack" Mullen, III, Director of Dirivatives at AgriBank in St. Paul, Minnesota and his wife Carol; and Thomas Roy Mullen of Baltimore and Oxford, Maryland, President and CEO of Mercy Health Services in Baltimore and his wife Rosemary Wahler; six grandchildren, Jeffrey, Katie, Christopher, and Mary Mullen and David and Jonathan Merdek, and one great grandchild, Abigail Merdek. A funeral mass was held in Atlanta at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. A memorial service and interment will take place at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia at a later date. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Lt. Col. Walter J. Mullen Fund c/o Mercy Health Foundation, 301 St. Paul Place, Baltimore Maryland 21202 and to Dogwood Forest of Dunwoody, 7400 Peachtree Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, GA 30328. Arrangements By H.M. Patterson and Son, Arlington Chapel, Atlanta, GA (404) 851-9900.