On November 5, Florence Mullen celebrated her 100th birthday at a Recklein Auditorium Celebration. Photo by Genifer Cape
Museums, monuments, a snappy mural name, attractions, and more can be found in Cuba. But the bedrock of a town is the citizens who have lived here, influenced others, and made Cuba their own. Florence Mullen is one such person. On Saturday, November 5, surrounded by friends and family, Mrs. Mullen celebrated her 100th birthday at Recklein Auditorium. Relatives came from all over to join her on her special day.
Florence was married to Hank Mullen in 1928, and they lived in St. Louis for awhile. Later they moved to Cuba, and bought a farm in 1943. Mr. Mullen died in 1979, and Mrs. Mullen lived on the farm for eight more years before moving to Cuba. Mrs. Mullen raised 12 children in a time without a lot of the modern conveniences. She has 27 grandchildren, 57 great grandchildren, and 24 great, great grandchildren with more on the way.
In May, 2010, she was recognized by Secretary of State Robin Carnahan as being one of the oldest voting Democrats in Missouri. She has voted in every election since women got the vote. According to a Cuba Free Press article, she was always fond of Harry Truman. She used the name Truman for the middle name for her son Cliff, who died from injuries sustained while fighting in the Vietnam War.
In 2007, two of her sons initiated the effort to build the Veterans Memorial to honor their brother Cliff. They wanted to complete their project so that their mother could take part in its dedication. In 2009, the memorial was dedicated with Mrs. Mullen placing a wreath beneath her son Cliff’s name. Six of Mrs. Mullen’s seven sons have their names engraved on the Cuba Veterans Memorial.
Florence Mullen, along with her sons Phil and W.D. watches the erection of the Cuba Veterans Memorial in the Recklein Commons area.
Mrs. Mullen lives alone in her Cuba home although she has help. She can often be seen about town lunching with some of her children or other young relatives. She still loves to get out and go. She plans to attend this year’s Veterans Ceremony at the memorial that means so much to her family.
Viva Cuba congratulates Mrs. Mullen on her momentous birthday, and we appreciate her influence on our community.
Read the full story of the Cuba Veterans Memorial.
Cool. Congratulations to this dear lady.
Update: My grandma Florence Mullen just celebrated her 101st birthday. Happy Birthday Grandma, I love you!
Congratulations, on another Mrs. Mullen on this latest milestone. You will soon have another election to vote in as well.