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Dorothy Mulhern Obituary
June 19, 1926 - January 25, 2014
Resident of Los Altos
Dorothy Mae Mulhern, 87, veteran of the U.S. Air Force Nursing Service and longtime member of the Assistance League of Los Altos died at her home on Jan. 25 following a long illness.
Dorothy was born June 19, 1926 in Blair County, PA, the daughter of Don and Daisy Horton. She graduated from high school in 1944 and from the Philadelphia General Hospital School of Nursing in May, 1948.
After working in a Washington, DC, hospital she was one of the first two nurses granted direct commissions in the USAF Nurse Corps Reserve after it separated from the Army in 1949. She was certified as a U.S. Air Force flight nurse and flew wounded U.S. servicemen and women from Korea to hospitals near their homes in the U.S.
In 1951 she was assigned to the Iceland Defense Force hospital in Keflavik, Iceland as a surgical nurse. While in Iceland she met her future husband, Lt. George Mulhern of the Army's 278th Infantry Regiment. They were married after both returned to the United States in 1952.
After pursuing job opportunities in the eastern U.S. for a number of years they settled in Los Altos in 1968. She became active with the Assistance League of Los Altos, serving several terms as president and as head of various committees. She was co-chairman of the committee that founded the League's H.O.M.E. Apartments, a 42-unit apartment complex that provided low-cost housing for patients and caregivers undergoing serious treatments at Stanford Medical Center.
In addition to her civic activities she spent several years as a realtor, working with major real estate firms in the area. Through it all, she was first and foremost, a loving wife, mother and grandmother to three sons and nine grandchildren.
She leaves her husband of 61 years, George; three sons and their families; George (Karen) of Eagle, ID; Matt (Anna) of Arlington, VA; and Will (Susan) of Menlo Park, CA; and her nine grandchildren.
Plans for a memorial service and final interment will be announced later.
For those wishing to make a donation, we suggest the Assistance League of Los Altos, Pathways Hospice, or a charity of your choice.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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