Truly a Gentle Man: The Life and Times of Mack Mulkey

During his life, Mack Ross Mulkey was a son, a student, an athlete, a lover, a husband, a soldier, a father, an engineer, a manager, a coach, a grandfather, a mentor, a concerned citizen, a community leader, a gardener, a great grandfather, and perhaps, most of all, a gentle man. This is not an attempt to chronicle all of Mack’s life or to tell his entire story. It is an attempt to describe who Mack Mulkey was and how he affected our lives, in our words and, occasionally, his.

EARLY YEARS
Mack was born to Leta and Dunham Mulkey on February 19, 1922 in Fort Worth, Texas. He grew up in Fort Worth, occasionally living with his grandparents, John and Helen Clayton, (better known as Papaw and Mamaw) on their farm east of the city. Belva Clayton, a relative, sometimes resident of the Clayton home, and chronicler of the Clayton family history tells the following story in her book Thomas Nelson Clayton: His Descendants, His Ancestors.

This man (John Clayton) had the greatest zest for living of anyone I ever met. . . At one time he owned a big red dog named Rover. Rover certainly was not unusual, just a big old dog, but we liked him. Rover took sick and died. Uncle John, Roe Junior, Mack Ross and I took the dog down into the okra patch to bury him. While Uncle John was digging a hole for the burial, he casually remarked that we shouldn’t just bury Rover, but that we should have some sort of service; so, Roe Junior recited a poem, and Mack Ross sang The Eyes of Texas are Upon You and Cheer Boys, Cheer. Uncle John and I were the mourners.

Mack’s mother, Leta remembers Mack as a child in this manner.

Oh, he was a wonderful little boy. . . He didn’t play ball or anything like that very much. He was a real good boy. He didn’t chum with a whole bunch of boys. He was just real quiet and real good.

Dunham Mulkey retired from the duties of fatherhood when Mack was still an infant. Dunham later died of a heart attack at the age of 36.

My mother said that he (Dunham) never really realized he was married. He just went about his bachelor ways. . . . At the age of two, they (Leta and Dunham) divorced, and . . . I went to live my grandparents, the Claytons.

–Mack Mulkey

As a teenager, Mack lived with his mother in Dallas, earning money delivering newspapers. He graduated from North Dallas High School in 1939. Mack did not distinguish himself as a student, but he loved sports and played baseball, football, and basketball at every opportunity. After high school, Mack briefly attended the University of Texas at Austin and played baseball there. (more…)

Sunday, June 19th, 2011