By Emily J. Minor
GULF STREAM — Thomas Mulry, a lifelong financial adviser for the utilities industry who began coming to Gulf Stream in the early 1960s when he and his wife were just newlyweds, died Oct. 23 after a brief illness. He was 79.
“He loved the ocean,” said his daughter, Megan Huisinga. “He loved swimming in the ocean, and some of my favorite pictures of him are with his grandchildren on the beach.”
A New York native, Mr. Mulry was the son of an insurance salesman and an art teacher in the public schools. He spent his childhood in Hewlett, Long Island, eventually serving two years in the U.S. Army, then moving into the city to begin his career in corporate finance and investment banking.
Mr. Mulry met his wife, Margaret Power, at “an old-fashioned tea dance” in New York City, his daughter said, and the couple were married Dec. 28, 1959, in one of the side chapels at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
When Mr. Mulry died, he and his wife had been married 51 years.
The couple raised their five children mostly in Locust Valley, N.Y., and Mr. Mulry had two prestigious professional stints — first as president of Stone & Webster Securities, from 1972 to 1974; and then as managing director and, later, advisory director of PaineWebber Inc. Investment Banking Division. When Mr. Mulry retired from PaineWebber in 2000, the couple moved full-time to Gulf Stream.
A disciplined man, Mr. Mulry was a bit of a paradox, Huisinga said. On one hand he was methodical and straightforward, yet he loved to sing and laugh and have a good time.
“I think that he loved what made life absurd,” she said. “His favorite thing would be to have dinner with 10 friends and tell stories and have a great bottle of wine.”
In Florida, he was a member of The Little Club and the Gulf Stream Bath and Tennis Club.
Mr. Mulry suffered cancer about a decade ago, but recuperated to enjoy his retirement. Still, Huisinga said her father’s death was probably caused by a white cell abnormality resulting from that cancer treatment.
He attended Mass at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church every morning.
In addition to his wife, Margaret, and his daughter, Megan Huisinga, who lives with her family in Delray Beach, other survivors include: Patricia Mulry of Lake Worth; Brooke Mulry of Lake Worth; Thomas C. Mulry Jr. of Boyce, Va.; and Sean F. Mulry, of Glen Cove, N.Y. Seven grandchildren also survive him, two of whom attend Gulf Stream School.
After he died, the family found a note among his personal affairs, asking that any memorial donations be given to his old Catholic high school, Chaminade High School Development Fund, 350 Jackson Ave., Mineola, N.Y. 11501. Huisinga said her dad apparently made that decision when he had cancer, 10 years ago.
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