James A. Mullins

1942 - 2024

James A. (Jim) Mullins

Seattle, WA - Seattle, WA – James A. Mullins, 81, died on June 14, 2024 near Seattle, where he had lived since 2014. The cause was complications of chronic myeloid leukemia.

Born December 1, 1942 in Concord NH, he was the son of Nadine Simmons Mullins and Dr. Clinton Ross Mullins, a Concord surgeon.

Jim graduated from Concord High School in 1961 and Yale University in 1965. Upon graduation from Yale, he moved to New York, where he managed the Filmmaker's Cinematheque and was Special Events Coordinator for Lincoln Center's New York Film Festival. From there, he went on to work for KING-TV's screen division in Seattle.

Jim returned to New Hampshire in 1970, living in Webster and Portsmouth until 1987. During this time, he served as editor of New Hampshire Natural Resources magazine, was Vice-President and Assistant Director of The Audubon Society of New Hampshire, and Communications Director of the Marine and Sea Grant programs at the University of New Hampshire.

Fulfilling a life-long dream, he and his wife Alice K. Boatwright moved to San Francisco in 1987 where, for 18 years, he served as a medical writer and editor for the medical centers at the University of California. From 1997 through 2004, he was the Managing Editor of The American Journal of Medicine, one of the leading medical journals in the United States.

During his time in California, he and his wife travelled widely throughout Asia and Africa, using their skills in writing and photography to document international public health programs for the World Health Organization and human rights and women's development programs for The Asia Foundation.

In 2004, he and Alice moved to Paris where they served as consultants to the World Health Organization and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. Over the decade they spent abroad, they also had a home in Oxfordshire for several years.

They returned to the US in 2014, where Jim continued to write periodically for The Lancet.

Jim had been an active and loyal member of Alcoholics Anonymous since 1984, always mindful that "Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety."

Jim is survived by his wife, his extended family, and his many friends around the world. A gathering to celebrate his life will be held in Paris at a date to be announced.