June 14, 1926 – August 9, 2022
John A. Mullendore passed away at age 96 from congestive heart failure at his home in Sugar Land, TX. He was born June 14, 1926, in Hominy, OK, and his family moved to Miami, OK when he was about 6 months old.
When John finished the ninth grade it was decided that he should go to Oklahoma Military Academy in Claremore, OK. World War II was looming, and it was almost a certainty he would be drafted. He attended summer and winter terms to get ahead in his schooling. He was an excellent student and earned some college credits before he had to go.
He did get drafted at age eighteen, and was sent to various camps, including Fort Riley in Kansas where he was on the base polo team. He was sent to Officer Candidate School at Fort Knox, KY and commissioned Second Lieutenant. Ultimately, he was sent overseas to Pusan, Korea with the 6th Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop and came back in November 1946.
John enrolled at Oklahoma University, pledged Signa Nu, and graduated in 1950 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering; he was also in the engineering honorary fraternity Sigma Tau. John began his professional career with the Monsanto Company in St. Louis, MO, and during the next 22 years had positions in production, sales, and general management. He lived and managed chemical plants in West Virginia, Alabama, and Australia. In 1964 he earned an M.B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis. John later worked for Cummings, Inc. in Nashville, TN; Geo. J. Ball, Inc. in Chicago, IL; and G. D. Searle & Co. in Skokie, IL. The last years of his working life were with Angus Chemical Company as V.P./Managing Director Europe while living in London.
John and Annette moved to Sugar Land in December 1991. John joined the Senior Golfers Group at Sweetwater Country Club, became a neighborhood representative, and served on the boards of the country club and First Colony Community Association. He loved playing golf regularly and was a voracious reader of mystery novels. He was also a long-time member of Christ United Methodist Church.
John is survived by his wife of 37 years, Annette Ripper Mullendore; his daughter Jane Ames Mullendore Wilson (Creede) of Marietta, GA; and his son David Harper Mullendore (Karen) of Nashville, TN. His granddaughters are Amanda Simpson Tufano (Laura) of Minneapolis, MN; Julia Ames Tufano of Austin, TX; and Lowrey Harrington Wilson Elder (Tyler) of Roswell, GA. His grandsons are Bennett Lee Wilson (Kasey) of Woodstock, GA and John Winston Ames Mullendore of Nashville, TN. John is also survived by six great grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his mother Helen Ames Mullendore; his father Claude Harold Mullendore, Sr.; his brother Claude Harold Mullendore, Jr.; his daughter Anne Simpson Mullendore Tufano; and ex-spouse Dorthea Anne Simpson McClaine (mother of Anne, Jane, and David).
John was a proud descendant of Mullendore brothers who successfully claimed land in the Oklahoma land rush that occurred September 16, 1893. He was a natural leader--a real straight arrow -- respected by all knew and worked with him. Even toward the end of his life he still had the charm and disarming smile that endeared him to family, friends and caregivers Sherri, Christine, Tenneh, and Tracy.
A memorial service is planned for Saturday, September 17, 2022, at 11:00 a.m., with a reception to follow at Settegast-Kopf Co. @ Sugar Creek, 15015 Southwest Freeway, Sugar Land, TX 77478.
For those desiring, memorials may be made in honor of John to Bayou Bend Annual Fund Drive or Christ United Methodist Church, 3300 Austin Parkway, Sugar Land, TX 77479.
John’s final resting place will be in G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) Cemetery in Miami, OK.
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