Businessman John Mullen dead at 82
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
John P. Mullen, a businessman and leader in the Hawai'i insurance industry, died Sept. 22 in Honolulu. He was 82.
Mullen was born in Motherwell, Scotland, on June 26, 1920. In 1959, he and his wife, Margaret, founded John Mullen and Co. in Honolulu.
John Mullen felt that employee morale was an important factor in running a successful business, said his daughter Janet Dwyer.
The company grew steadily and now has a staff of about 80 employees and 37 licensed adjusters. In addition to Hawai'i, the company services insurance claims throughout the Pacific basin, including Johnston Island, American Samoa and Guam.
Janet Dwyer, Mullen's daughter, said her parents built the business on integrity, quality service, family values and a commitment to the community. John Mullen also felt that employee morale was an important factor in running a successful business, Dwyer said.
She said that each pay period, her mother would write out every paycheck and John Mullen would deliver them so he could stay in touch with each employee.
Former state insurance commissioner Robin Campaniano called Mullen an "honorable man." Campaniano is president of AIG Hawai'i Insurance Co.
"When I was insurance commissioner there were several people I could trust implicitly and he was one of the few," Campaniano said. "His life would be wasted if people did not try to live life the way he did and that was honest and straightforward and forthright."
In addition to his business interest, Mullen served on the Hawai'i Judicial Selection Committee, and was a former president of the Hawai'i Insurers Council and Hawai'i Insurance Guaranty Association. He was a member of the Waialae Country Club, volunteered at The Queen's Medical Center, and was the head usher at Holy Trinity Church.
Survivors include his wife, Margaret; son, Terry; daughter, Janet Dwyer; three grandchildren; and sister, Maureen Nydam.
Committal service 1 p.m. tomorrow at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. No flowers. Memorial donations to Hospice Hawai'i or Holy Trinity Church.
