Morris J. Mullins

Morris Mullins, Dad, was born September 28, 1926, one of six boys, losing a brother when they
were children. He grew up during the depression, living with his family in a tent at times, and
eventually living in his maternal grandmother’s boarding house on Capitol Hill. He attended
East High School until at the age of 17 he enlisted in the Marine Corp. He was assigned to the
5th Marine Division formed on November 11, 1943 landing at Iwo Jima and was able to see the
flag raised on Mount Suribachi. He remained in the Reserves and was called back into action
to Korea, but this tour was cut short by the death of both his parents and he was brought
home to help care for his younger brothers.

Dad and Mom, Dorothy Moody, were friends at East High School and corresponded with one
another during the war. Their letters evolved into love letters and when Dad was discharged
from the Marine Corp in July 1946, he returned to Denver where they were married August 31
of that same year. They had three daughters, Vicky, Sandy, and Patty. We were taught we could
do anything and Dad had us working in the yard with him, painting the house with him, and
generally doing whatever needed to be done. We were a team.

Dad knew from a young age that he wanted to be a policeman. He became a Colorado State
Patrolman around 1950, and then started his career as a patrolman for the Denver Police
Department in 1957. He had high ambitions and worked his way up the ranks. During his
career at DPD he patrolled the streets of Denver, became a detective, worked in the Narcotics
and Homicide departments, and then was promoted to head of security at Stapleton
International Airport where he met Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Sr, and Lyndon
Johnson.Then Dad returned to uniform as a Lieutenant managing District 3 for many years,
retiring in 1985 as the Budget Director for the Denver Police Department. He always told us he
had the greatest job in the world, and said he never had a boring day. “I had a ticket to the
greatest show on earth.”

Dad loved to travel so though he and mom both worked full-time, family vacations were spent
in one of our Ramblers pulling a travel trailer. We travelled all over the western United States
placing decals in the back window of the trailer from every state and national park we visited.
In retirement years, Mom and Dad made several trips to Hawaii, and continued to travel the
contiguous United States in their Airstream, also throwing in an occasional cruise to places like
the Bahamas.

Dad also loved the outdoors and all of his girls inherited that love. Growing up in Colorado we
were taught from a young age if “you packed it in, you packed it out”. We spent many
weekends at our grandmother’s cabin in Coal Creek Canyon, and fishing, camping, and
sightseeing all over our beloved Colorado. He also enjoyed weightlifting, reading, and liked to
watch Dancing with the Stars. His favorite movie was Pretty Woman, somewhat his story of
rags to riches. Dad was quite the conversationalist and you could always count on a good
conversation with him.

The world was a better place with Morris in it. He was an intelligent man with a high degree of
integrity, loyalty, and work ethic. We shall miss him.

Military burial will take place at Fort Logan National Cemetery on October 19, 2023, 11:00 A.M.
Staging Area C.