Mary Teresa Mullen

Mary Teresa Mullen of Arlington, Virginia, passed away on June 7, 2024, at the age of 87. Born in County Kerry, Ireland, in 1937, Mary emigrated to the United States with her family in 1947. She grew up in Bronx, New York with her 4 siblings, graduating from Cathedral High School before marrying Michael Robert Mullen in 1959. The couple moved to Washington, D.C. that same year, and raised six children in Arlington. As a young woman in New York City, Mary worked for the Modern Talking Pictures Company as a switchboard operator and IBM as a keypunch operator and was known for dressing stylish from her sunglasses to her high-heeled shoes. In the 1970s, after moving to Arlington, Mary worked as a secretary for Pinkerton Computer Consulting in Bailey’s Crossroads. Later, Mary worked at the Arlington Unitarian Co-Operative Preschool (AUCP) in Arlington – she was in charge of the “Baby Room” and later ran a daycare in her house. Mary also worked as an executive assistant at the International Autopen Company in Clarendon before starting a decades-long career as a kindergarten assistant in the Fairfax County Public School System. Mary was a favorite of children and parents alike at Columbia and Belvedere Elementary Schools in Fairfax. In her younger years, Mary included a morning run in her daily exercise regimen. Later in life, she liked to take long walks on the bike trail through Arlington’s parks. Mary was known for her boundless love for children, her positive human energy and Irish wit, her love of country music and nature (especially birds) and her empathy and kindness for the less fortunate. She is survived by her six children (Michael, Kevin, Brian, Cathleen, Siobhan, and Sean), two daughters-in-law Tung (Michael) and Susan (Kevin), eight grandchildren (Kesh, Riley, Hannah, Haley, Mary, Brian, Fiona, and Fallon), her sister, Bridget Court, and Bridget’s children (Timothy, Elizabeth, Theresa, Catherine, and Bridget) of Poughkeepsie, New York. Visitation for family and friends will be held on Thursday, 5:00-8:00 PM, at Murphy’s Funeral Home at 4510 Wilson Boulevard in Arlington and a Funeral Mass will be held Friday at 10:00 AM at St. Anthony’s of Padua Catholic Church at 3305 Glen Carlyn Road in Falls Church.