Loyd A. Mullinax Jr.

NEWTON - Loyd Alexander Mullinax Jr., former mayor of Newton, state legislator and bank president, died Wednesday, June 10, 2009, at Palliative CareCenter & Hospice of Catawba Valley. The 92-year-old Newton native lived a life of public service, both through elective office and in his profession, in which he said he took his greatest pleasure in helping thousands of Catawba County families become homeowners. Mullinax, who had been seriously ill for only a few days, was hospitalized Sunday and was transferred to the Hospice campus Monday. The funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m. Friday, June 12, 2009, at Beth Eden Lutheran Church on North Main Avenue in Newton, with the pastors, the Revs. Dr. Jane Mitcham and Chad R. Walker officiating. Interment will follow in Catawba Memorial Park on U.S. 70, west of Conover. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 tonight, Thursday, June 11, 2009, at Willis-Reynolds Funeral Home in Newton. Born Jan. 26, 1917, Mullinax was raised on a farm that then was on the northwestern outskirts of Newton. He began his career humbly working at a local glove-manufacturing factory, as a farmer, textile worker, stork clerk and bookkeeper. After graduating in 1934 from Newton High School, he graduated in 1941 from Newton Business School and in the early years of World War II served as a sergeant and company clerk of the Newton unit of the North Carolina State Guard, later to become part of the National Guard. Mullinax went to work in the former downtown Newton county courthouse as a deputy Clerk of Court for four years and then was elevated to the office of Clerk of Court for Catawba County. After filling the courthouse post in 1943 and 1944, Mullinax went to Washington, where he worked on Capitol Hill as administrative assistant to Congressman Joe W. Ervin of Morganton, representing the North Carolina 10th Congressional District, in 1944 and 1945. He then served on the staff of Ervin's successor, his brother, Samuel J. Ervin Jr., who later became one of North Carolina's senators. After Mullinax and his wife returned to Newton to further his career, he continued his public service. He was elected to the Newton Board of Aldermen in 1961 and served as mayor pro tem. In 1966, the lifelong Democrat was elected to represent Catawba County in the North Carolina General Assembly and served as a member of the finance, education, insurance, banking and conservation and development committees. Elected to three consecutive two-year terms as mayor of Newton, from 1971 to 1977, he chose not to seek a fourth term after having a leading role as the municipality constructed a new City Hall, expanded water and sewer infrastructure, undertook extensive street improvements and was the booster of his goal of broadening recreation facilities that led to Jaycee Park in South Newton, acquisition of the East Newton School property for a recreation center with gymnasium and the development of Broyhill Park in North Newton. During that period, he also was vice president of Electri-Cities of North Carolina. In his professional career of 47 years as a banking executive, he was involved in the financing of residential construction and purchase that provided family homes for many veterans returning to the community after World War II. Mullinax joined Citizens Building and Loan in downtown Newton in 1946 and rose to be its president. That institution later became Citizens Savings and Loan Association and then Citizens Savings Bank. He retired in 1993 as president and CEO when a merger with BB&T took place. He served as president of the N.C. Savings and Loan League. In Newton Lions Club, where he was a member for 65 years, he held life membership and was club president and deputy district governor of Lions International. On the Newton club's 50th anniversary in 1994, he was presented a Melvin Jones Fellowship in Lions International. Mullinax was active in Newton Elks Lodge, the YMCA, Catawba County Historical Association, Catawba County Chamber of Commerce, Catawba Country Club, Habitat for Humanity, American Red Cross, Green Room Community Theatre and was president of Eastern Catawba United Fund and vice president of Newton Merchants Association. He played an active part on the committee that oversaw his hometown's 2005 sesquicentennial observances. He was a lifelong member of Beth Eden Lutheran Church, where he served as treasurer and held numerous positions. He was an adult Sunday school teacher for many years, chairman of the Historical Committee and, in 2003, was given life membership in the Lutheran Men in Mission, formerly the Lutheran Brotherhood. When Newton-Conover Rotary Club presented Mullinax its Vocational Service Award in 2007, the citation stated, in part: "This man has more than a name which is a household word in Catawba County; he has a face that everyone recognizes. It is part the pride of home ownership, part his friendliness, and part Southern hospitality. He can walk up to the porch of about any house from Catfish to Cat Square, from Long Island to Long View and they will open the door with a smile to greet him." Mullinax's parents, Loyd Alexander and Edna Reitzel Mullinax, preceded him in death, as did his beloved wife and companion of 71 years, the former Mary Elizabeth Hatchett Mullinax, who died June 6, 2008, and their daughter, Linda F. Mullinax, who died Oct. 28, 2005. He was also preceded by his sister, Helen M. Harbinson. Surviving Mullinax is a brother, Brady W. Mullinax and wife, Mary, of Kernersville; a son, current Newton mayor, Robert A. Mullinax and wife, Lynn; four grandchildren, Robert A. Mullinax Jr. and wife, Kim, of Newton, Mary Jordan Mullinax of Charlotte, Christopher M. Fye and wife, Eileen, of Cleveland, Ohio, and Hannah F. Ward and husband, the Rev. Mike, of Fletcher; five great-grandchildren, Caroline and Luke Ward, Tabatha and Claudia Fye, and John Alexander Mullinax; and a number of nieces and a nephew. Memorials are suggested to Beth Eden Lutheran Church Memorial Fund, 400 N. Main Ave., Newton, N.C. 28658; Palliative CareCenter & Hospice of Catawba Valley, 3975 Robinson Road, Newton, N.C. 28658; and Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministries, P.O. Box 31, Newton, N.C. 28658. The Mullinax family has entrusted funeral arrangements to Willis-Reynolds Funeral Home and Crematory in Newton.