Following is the obituary for JACQUELIN ELISE MULLIN, submitted for the family by the Harding Funeral Home.

.   .   .

Jacquelin Elise (Sheedy) Mullin of Westport passed peacefully after a brief illness on Nov. 5, 2021, with her sons at her side. 

Born in New Rochelle, N.Y, Jacquie was the daughter of Marie A. Mortzheim and John J. “Jack” Sheedy, Sr. 

She spent her childhood in Bronxville, N.Y., graduated from Roosevelt High School and went on to study at highly respected Pace Business School. Jacquie married a high school beau, Gerard Mullin, in 1946, while he was completing service that had taken him into WWII as an ensign in the Merchant Marine. 

The couple moved from Bronxville to Daytona Beach, Fla., and later to Park Forest, Ill., before returning to settle in Connecticut, where Gerry began to establish his career in advertising. Initially settling in New Canaan, the growing family moved to Westport in 1954.

Jacquie raised their three sons while Gerry worked in New York City. She volunteered in Westport schools and her three active boys kept her busy transporting them to sports events, dealing with a menagerie of wild “pets,” and worrying about motorcycle mishaps.  

Divorced in 1973, Jacquie remained in her Westport home and entered the workplace as an administrative assistant, working her way through a number of marketing positions until she retired from GTE (now Verizon). 

Her interests led her to volunteering with the Westport Historical Society, Women’s Club, Nature Center (now Earthplace) and other community organizations. She loved flowers and was a devoted gardener for many years. In later years, she surrounded herself with flowering plants on her deck, where she spent as many hours as possible as soon as warm weather began.

She traveled extensively with friends and family members while she was working and after retirement. Proud of her Irish heritage, visiting “the auld sod” was an important journey. She was inseparable from her beloved cars, driving solo to FL/NC each winter to visit friends and family. 

When physical impairments made driving impossible (2016!), companions were employed to assist her with care and, more importantly, drive her to Compo Beach to watch the ever-changing seasons of children, dogs and beach walkers.

Her circle of friends was wide throughout her long life.  With her sons grown and out of the house, her best times centered on sharing a meal or driving adventures with old friends from work and new friends from all walks of life. Prior to the pandemic, lunch dates and sharing stories kept all in good spirits — including those who patiently waited on the “walker brigade” at local restaurants. Our thanks go to those wonderful folks who enriched her life with their companionship and wit, and to the aides that made those later-life lunches possible.

Family was the center of Jacquie’s existence. She hosted holiday dinners until the younger generation took over, and kept track of everyone’s birthdays. She was pre-deceased by her former husband (1997), her middle son, Randall James Mullin (2017) and daughter-in-law, Audrey (Albright) Mullin (2005).

Surviving family are a brother, John J. Sheedy, Jr., of New York City and Red Rock, N.Y.; an older sister, Marie Ponce of Charlotte, N.C.; a younger sister, Marguerite Adams of  Garrison, N.Y.; son, Jeffrey and his wife, Joan Hall, of Bourne, Mass.; son, Scott of Ridgefield; daughter-in-law Jackie Mullin of Neptune Beach Fla.; two grandchildren, Amy Mullin and Brian Mullin; a great-grandchild, Ethan Mullin; plus nieces, nephews and their children.

A private graveside service will be held at Assumption Cemetery. A Celebration of Life will be held in the spring of 2022 for family and friends. 

No flowers, please. Donations to the American Cancer Society; the Wakeman Town Farm, 134 Cross Highway, Westport, CT 06880, and Earthplace, 10 Woodside Lane, Westport, CT 06880. 

Plant perennial flowers in your garden in her memory.