W.L. Mullens, 75, Ormond Beach, passed away in peace Monday, February 8, 2010, with his loving family at his bedside. His family will receive friends from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 11, at Haigh-Black Funeral Home, 167 Vining Court, Ormond Beach.  A private service with internment following will be held for the family Friday.

Mr. Mullens was born December 17, 1934, in Rossville, Georgia to parents Mary Stallings and Joseph W. Mullens.  He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the University of Chattanooga, where he also met his beloved wife, Barbara, of 49 years.  W.L. taught for two years in Hamilton County, Tennessee prior to following Barbara to Ormond Beach.  They were married in the Chapel on the Campus of the University of Chattanooga in 1960.

Mr. Mullens began his career in education in Volusia County as a teacher at North Ridgewood and Hurst Elementary Schools.  His first appointment as a school principal came at Riverview Elementary.  He was later appointed to become the first Principal of Tomoka Elementary School.  He left Tomoka to serve as an Elementary School Supervisor of Volusia County before returning to his first love, Tomoka School, for a second term as principal.  He retired in 1991 after serving in Volusia County for 31 years.  Mr. Mullens was a distinguished educator, recognized as Outstanding Young Educator from the Greater Ormond Beach Jaycees in 1971, and Volusia County School Principal of the Year in 1988.  Tomoka School was recognized as one of Florida’s Top 21 Distinguished Elementary Schools 1988, and was also a finalist in the United States Elementary School Recognition Program in the same year.

He served as President of the Halifax Teacher’s Federal Credit Union, served for many years on the Board of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, accrediting schools throughout the Southeastern United States, and served as President of the local Association for Early Childhood Education.

Mr. Mullens has left a legacy of excellence and genuine love for his students and teachers that is widely remembered nearly twenty years after his retirement.  W.L.’s passion was gardening, which he developed into a second career as a landscaper and plant nursery owner.  He will be remembered most in this community for his unusual sense of social responsibility, love and compassion for others.  He never never failed to help someone in need, nor met a person who was not instantly his friend.

W.L.’s happiest days were those spent with his family that he loved so deeply, his wife, Barbara; son, Richard, and his wife Sherrill, Jacksonville; daughter, Kimberly Corso, and her husband David, Orlando; and grandchildren, Jordan, Olivia, Tucker, and Lily.  He is survived by his sisters, Sarah Wethers and Frances Smith, Rossville, Georgia; sister, Lucille Pennington, Tampa; and brothers, Boyd and Bill Mullens, Rossville, Georgia. 

Memorial donations may be made to Tomoka Elementary School, 999 Old Tomoka Road, Ormond Beach, Florida 32174 in care of Julie Johnson.

 

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