- Date Of Birth: October 19, 1935
- Date Of Death: August 31, 2018
- State: New Mexico
Dr. Wallace J. Mulligan, USN / USPHS (Ret.) passed away peacefully in his sleep with family present in the early morning hours of Aug. 31, 2018. He was 82 years old.
Wally was born in Brownsville, Penn., on Oct. 19, 1935, to Robert A. “Doc” and Bernadette Wallace Mulligan. He attended grade school in Brownsville and was enrolled in St. Vincent Preparatory School in Latrobe, Penn., at age 13. He graduated from St. Vincent College in Latrobe and earned his Doctor of Medicine from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1961. Following medical school, he completed his internship at Cincinnati General Hospital, where he met and married Sara “Sally” Nelson in 1962. He joined the United States Navy Reserve, and after serving as a Battalion Surgeon for the United States Marine Corps in California, Wally, Sally, and their newborn son Michael returned to Cincinnati, where their daughter Rebecca was born. Dr. Mulligan completed his residency in pulmonary and internal medicine in Cincinnati and Cleveland, where he also taught at Case Western Reserve University. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1964. Wally opened a private medical practice in Cleveland, Ohio, and later worked in Hough-Norwood at an inner-city medical clinic in Cleveland. Dr. Mulligan also served a tour as a civilian doctor in Vietnam in 1969.
Wally and Alma settled in Pecos, New Mexico, in 1983 and married in 1988. Alma worked as a certified nurse mid-wife in northern New Mexico, and Wally worked at the Indian Hospital in Santa Fe.
Dr. Mulligan was a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of Mensa. He had original research published by the New England Journal of Medicine and was an accomplished author, publishing 12 books, including five books of poetry. Wally was also a prolific storyteller in the great Irish tradition, and would often regale family and friends with tales of his experiences in childhood, college, medical school and other times in his life.
Wally will be fondly remembered for his brilliant mind, unique sense of humor, carpe diem approach to life, as well as his charisma, dedication to liberal causes, and overall humanistic view of life. He would often say, “Life is to be lived, not endured,” and he lived life fully. He wanted his headstone to read:
He was born with a gift of laughter
And a sense that the world was mad
Rafael Sabatini, Scaramouche, 1921
Wally is survived by his children Michael Mulligan, Rebecca Mulligan, John Gummel (Pam), Chris Gummel (Kandie), Paul Gummel (Jeanne), Tom Gummel, Mark Gummel, Maria McMahon (Ben), Lisa D’Alessio (Anthony), Claudia Rodriguez, Patricia Sternenberg (John), and Lori Barlow (Jeff), and their many children and grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife Alma.
