Lois Adena Mullen

Lois Adena Mullen (née Safley), age 97, passed away peacefully at home in San Clemente on March 20, 2023, surrounded by family. She loved the Lord and her family and lived a life of service to both and to countless others.
Lois was born in Benton, Iowa on July 26, 1925 to Oliver and Irma Safley. She graduated from Bedford High School in 1943. Lois moved to California in 1947 to marry her high school sweetheart, Kenneth I Mullen, who had just returned from World War II. They were happily married for 71 years and had four children: Kenneth David, Barry, Teri, and Christopher.
Lois received her PhT (putting hubby through) from the University of Southern California, where Ken earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees. They lived in a small apartment in Los Angeles and just scraped by during those early years while Ken took advantage of the GI Bill. As he became more successful, they made their home in Arcadia and spent their weekends in San Clemente. They moved to San Clemente full-time in 1983.
They were Dodgers and Trojans season ticket holders Ken and Lois traveled to many USC away games and several bowl games. She was a huge Trojan football fan and continued to watch games on TV after she was no longer able to attend in person. Fight On!
Lois started golfing at the Arcadia Par 3 Golf Course years ago and continued playing into her 90s. She and Ken also traveled to play many courses throughout the country, including Hawaii. They even went to the Harvey Penick Golf Academy in Texas.
She traveled widely. She and Ken were among the first Americans to visit China in the 1970s and made several trips to New Zealand. They toured Europe with their best friends, Jim and Betty Hempstead, and later with their children, Barry and Teri. Lois continued to travel after her husband's death in 2018. One of her last trips was to Maryland for her great-grandson's wedding last September.
Lois was generous, kind, feisty and stubborn. Those traits served her well, helping her survive breast cancer in 1977 and diabetes. She was an active member at First Christian Church of Alhambra and the Arcadia Republican Women's Club. She and Ken attended both of Ronald Reagan's Inaugurations and Inaugural Balls.
Lois loved Chardonnay - with ice, please. She cooked the best chicken and noodles. Lois made hundreds of thousands of Christmas cookies and candies during her lifetime. It began as gift plates for Ken's clients and grew into a labor of love that included family and friends and many days of baking, decorating, plating, and distributing the treats each holiday season.
Lois is survived by two of her children: Barry (Candy) Mullen and Teri Cohen. She is also survived by six grandchildren: Laura Turpin, Lisa (Doug) Bilski, Briana (Joel) Jackson, Dustin (Trudi) Mullen, Cody Mullen, and Luke Mullen; five great-grandchildren: Hannah (Grant) Woomer, Mitchell (Kerstie) Turpin, Emma Bilski, Maize Jackson, and Cruz Jackson; and three great-great grandchildren: Maeve, Delaney, and Ada Woomer. Numerous friends' children also called her grandma.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Ken, and their sons David and Christopher.
Her family would like to thank all the caregivers who made Lois so comfortable in her final years, including Irene, Joseph, Karen and Oscean.
Services will be held at 1:00 PM at San Clemente Presbyterian Church, with a reception following. In remembrance of Lois' life, the family asks that any charitable donations be made to Boys and Girls Club of the South Coast Area (https://www.bgcsca.org/give) or to CHOC - Children's Hospital of Orange County (https://foundation.choc.org/?form=donate).