Carol Mullins

Madison - Carol M. Mullins, age 92, passed away peacefully in Madison, WI on Tuesday, January 12, 2021 with loving family present. Carol was born June 11, 1928 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin to William and Mary Fessler. She graduated from Manitowoc Lincoln High School in 1946 and from Holy Family Hospital School of Nursing in 1949.

She met Jerome “Jerry” Mullins Sr., the love of her life, in 1943 at a dance shortly before he shipped out to serve in the US Naval Air Corps in the South Pacific during WWII. They kept in touch through the war and dated after he returned in 1946. They were married in Manitowoc on September 12, 1949, two days after she took her Registered Nursing Boards. Two days after their wedding, they moved to Madison, Wisconsin where Jerry was a senior at the UW School of Engineering, and she started a career in nursing at UW Hospital during the polio epidemic on the orthopedic ward “4 West.” She worked there for 19 years. She loved her work and patients, and she made many close and lasting friends.

Carol and Jerry were always a close team in life, family, and work. Together they founded a business developing and managing real estate including apartments, hotels and commercial buildings. They shared a strong work ethic and a deep love for downtown Madison and the University of Wisconsin, which they passed on to their five children. Carol loved people and enjoyed personally interacting with generations of student apartment residents, employees, and colleagues. It was important to Carol that her employees, past and present, know how deeply she appreciated their hard work.

She supported and was active in numerous civic organizations and professional societies including Downtown Madison Inc., the Downtown Business Improvement District, Madison Chamber of Commerce, State of Wisconsin Housing Advisory Committee, and Zonta Club of Madison. She was a member of St. Patrick’s Cathedral Parish. Carol was a generous donor to many important charities, educational institutions, and the arts. She believed strongly in the value of education and in the virtue of the University of Wisconsin, establishing the Jerome J. and Carol M. Mullins Entrepreneurship Scholarship.

First and foremost, Carol loved her family. At many family events, she was known to proclaim, “Tis love brings us here”. She fiercely loved and was enormously proud of her children. In addition to her work and family, Carol loved to garden, read and watch the lake.

Carol was preceded in death by her parents William and Mary Fessler, her husband Jerry Mullins, and her son Brian William Mullins. Carol is survived by four of her five children and ten grandchildren: Maureen Mullins, her husband John Harting, and their son John Jr.; Pamela Mullins (wife to Brian) and their children Brian and Ashley; Mallory Mullins, her husband Martin Lueck, and their children Trenton, Lizabeth, and Colin; Bradley Mullins, his wife Kelly, and their children Kelsey, Brennan, Cameron, and Karleigh; and Jerome “Jay” Mullins Jr., his wife Sherrie, and Jay’s stepchildren Don, Shiloh, and Samuel. Carol also is survived by six great-grandchildren, who called her “GG” for “Great-Grandma,” five step-great- grandchildren, her brother William Fessler Jr. (Shirley), her brother-in-law Marvin Hartlaub (Judy), and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Carol and her family wish to thank Dr. Ann Schmidt, the staff at Home Instead (with a special thanks to Mary Kutka), Oakwood Village, and Agrace Hospice for their warm and compassionate care and support.

A burial service for immediate family only will be held. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no visitation or church service at this time. A celebration of Carol’s life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, Memorials may be made to the Jerome J. and Carol M. Mullins Entrepreneurship Scholarship Fund for the College of Engineering, at University of Wisconsin Foundation, U.S. Bank Lock Box, PO Box 78807, Milwaukee, WI 53278 or online at www.supportuw.org/give or a nonprofit of your choice.