John Whiting Cullinan

John Whiting Cullinan, 91, was born June 20, 1920 in Wawa, Pennsylvania to Thomas Henry and Mary Whiting Dooner Cullinan. His early years were spent in Media and Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. He attended St. Joseph’s Prep and graduated from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, spending college vacations working as a reporter on a daily newspaper.

Mr. Cullinan served during World War II as an aerial photo lab commander in England, France, Belgium and Germany and retired from the U.S. Air Force Reserve in 1980 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

He had a 35-year career in advertising, sales promotion and marketing with the Gates Rubber Company in Denver, Colorado. He was Director of International Marketing Services, and spent four years in Brussels, Belgium, 1967-70, helping to pioneer Gates expansion in western Europe. Following his retirement from Gates in 1980, he was president of the Heather Gardens Association in Aurora, Colorado.

Known to his friends as Jack, he and his wife Louise spent approximately 25 years living in Green Valley, Arizona, where he was a member of Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church, and for many years served as a driver for Friends in Deed and Meals on Wheels in Green Valley. He was active in service to the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Tucson as part of its marketing program, belonged to the Green Valley Camera Club, the Tubac Historical Society, and was an associate member of the Green Valley Country Club. He was a member of Alpha Sigma Nu, the national Jesuit honor society; and the Reserve Officers Association of the U.S.

Jack and Louise traveled extensively in their retirement years. In 2006, he and Louise took up residence at St. Andrew’s Village in Aurora, Colorado, where they enjoyed living closer to family and making many new friendships. They were members of St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church.

Jack will be remembered fondly by many for his kindness and generosity, his professionalism in every venture he undertook, his funny jokes, and his enthusiasm for fun, sports, family, and new experiences.

Mr. Cullinan is survived by his four children, John W. Cullinan, Jr., of Albuquerque, NM; Mary Louise Craner of Logan, Utah; Constance Spencer of Arvada, CO; and Patricia Cullinan of Salida, CO; 22 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren.

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