May 03--Joan Mullins co-owned Mullins Food Products with her husband for more than 50 years, working behind the scenes as the west suburban company grew from selling barbecue sauce in local grocery stores to providing sauces and condiments for companies including McDonald's.
In addition to keeping the books for most of those years as the company worked to stay ahead of the curve in the growing restaurant supply industry, Mullins raised 11 children, all of whom work for the company, now headquartered in Broadview.
"From the time we were young, mom made our business part of our family's culture," said her daughter Jeanne Gannon. "She taught us how to be a team and showed us how we're all in this together. And she did it by example."
Mullins, 85, died April 24 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in her Oak Brook home.
Born Joan P. Strain in Chicago, Mullins was a graduate of Providence High School. In 1952, she married Jack Mullins. His parents owned a saloon on the Northwest Side, where patrons got a free roast beef sandwich with homemade barbecue sauce when they bought a beer.
The barbecue sauce became the launching pad for Mullins Food Products, which was started in 1945, after the saloon closed, as a separate retail business selling the sauce in Chicago-area grocery stores.
Over the next three decades, the company had its share of struggles, but Mullins kept spirits high both at home and in the office.
"She brought a lot of who she was, particularly as a mother, to the workplace. She cultivated a family kind of atmosphere like no other company I had ever worked for," said Mike Mazur, retired plant manager at Mullins Food Products. "She brought her own special touch to how she ran the business."
Mullins and her husband lived for many years in a small Northwest Side apartment before purchasing their first home in 1957, a split-level in Westchester.
"She was at my dad's side during some really low points," her daughter said. "She was the one always looking on the bright side."
A pivotal moment for the company came in the late 1970s, when the decision -- considered risky at the time -- was made to invest in new equipment to become the maker of sauces for what was then McDonald's newest product, Chicken McNuggets.
"All our lives changed from that point on," her daughter said.
In the years that followed, Mullins and her family made it a priority to donate their time and resources to many charitable causes. One of her favorites is known as Joan's Angels at Notre Dame Catholic Parish in Clarendon Hills, where every holiday season she spearheaded the effort to purchase, wrap and deliver gifts to hundreds of needy families.
"No matter how busy things got, she went out of her way to help those struggling," her daughter said. "She didn't just find the time, she made the time."
Jack Mullins died in 2004.
Other survivors include five sons, Michael, Edward, William, James and Thomas; five other daughters, Marianne Vivirito, Judy Lucas, Jacqueline Stent, Kathryn Burke and Shannon Smith; 34 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Services were held.
Giangrasse Kates is a freelance reporter.
