Fred Mullins

Fred Mullins, 82, of Scottsbluff, died Sunday, July 18, 2010, at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff. A gathering of family and friends will be held 3:00 p.m., Friday, July 23, 2010, at his home, 2114 7th Avenue in Scottsbluff with military honors provided by the United States Navy. Cremation was at Sunset Memorial Park Crematory in Scottsbluff. Fred was born August 30, 1927, at Riverton, Iowa, the tenth of 14 children, to Alexander Deck and Rebecca Jane (Bailey) Mullins. His family moved to southwest Missouri shortly following his birth and lived there approximately nine years before returning to Iowa. He graduated from high school at Blanchard, Iowa in 1945. He enlisted in the United States Navy shortly after graduation at Great Lakes Naval Training Center near Chicago, Illinois. He joined the “Sea Bees” July 31, 1945, and was sent to Camp Parks near the city of Livermore in the San Francisco Bay area in California. In December 1945, he shipped out to Pearl Harbor aboard the Aircraft Carrier USS Saratoga; while there he transferred to the regular Navy and was assigned to US PC483 submarine chaser. In February 1946, he returned to the United States, to San Diego and from there he was shipped to Panama and then to Key West Florida. The PC 483 was decommissioned on June 18, 1946. He was discharged on August 18, 1946, at Fireman 2/c. While in California he met again with Beverly Bentley, a friend from high school in Iowa. When he was discharged he stopped in St. Louis, Missouri she was now living. He returned home to Blanchard, Iowa where his family was living. In November 1946, he spent Thanksgiving with Beverly and her family, bringing an engagement ring with him and they became engaged. He found a job with Carter Carburetor. Fred and Beverly were married on March 8, 1947, in the Grace Lutheran Chapel in St. Louis. He then worked for Hormel Packing. In July 1947, they moved to Scottsbluff where he worked for Bentley Potato Company for a year. He then went to work at the VFW Post No. 681 as a bartender; he also worked at Frank’s Bar in Morrill and for George Chinn’s Stable Club. In 1950, they moved to Kimball where he worked as a draftsman for Western Geophysical and with that crew he moved to Medicine Lake, Montana. In 1953, they returned to Scottsbluff and he worked with Turcrest Industries. In 1958, he went to work at B & C Steel and worked there until 1989, retiring as shop foreman. After he retired he became manager of the VFW for the next four years and then retired again. He was a lifetime member of the VFW Post No. 1681, and also a member of American Legion Post No. 36 and Eagles Lodge No. 2998. He enjoyed hunting and fishing with his friends. Survivors include his wife, Beverly; son, Morgan Mullins of Scottsbluff; daughters, Rebecca (Erv) Bartlett of Port Charlotte, Florida, Cara (Kent) Priel of North Platte, and Melissa Holliday of Lincoln; daughter-in-law, Caroline Linda Mullins Elliott of Prescott Valley, Arizona; brothers, D.B. Mullins of Shenandoah, Iowa and Calvin “Curly” Mullins of Kansas City, Missouri; grandchildren, Angela Heinz, Krista Carpenter, Edward Mullins, Elaine Jones, Dane Gallardo, Alex Gallardo, Barbara Valesquez, Brittany Mullins, Emily Mullins, Erinn Mullins, Christopher (Amy) Holliday and Spencer Holliday; great-grandchildren, Justin, Kaela, Sarah, Nicholas, Travis, Destiny, Devon, Ryan, Hunter, Cortney, Avery, Bronson, Charlotte, Alexandria, Andrew and Emaline; and numerous nieces and nephews. Fred was preceded in death by his parents, Alex and Becky Mullins; son, Lance Alan Mullins; brothers, Farley, Orin, Ellis, Elbert, Howard, Robert Lee, Davy Olin and Raymond; son-in-law Jeff Holliday; and many, many good friends.