Robert Emmet Mulligan

South Portland, Maine - Robert E. Mulligan passed away on Monday, January 31, 2022. Robert E. Mulligan was born in Mount Vernon, New York, on February 3, 1929, son of Robert Mulligan and Ella Sullivan Mulligan. Robert graduated from Mount Saint Michael Academy and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Iona College. He received his Master of Arts degree in Education from Hunter College and took graduate courses at New York University and City College of New York. Robert was employed by the Harrison Central School District in Westchester County, New York for thirty-four years after starting there as a student teacher while a senior in college. He served the district as a classroom teacher, Director of Adult Education with average enrollment of six to eight hundred each year, Language Arts Coordinator, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent, Director of the Pre-School Learning Program, Principal of Lake Street School, and Principal of Purchase Elementary School for his final fifteen years in Harrison. Robert was Treasurer of the Harrison Teachers' Association and Secretary of the Westchester Adult Education Council for several years. He was employed for eight summers by the Harrison Recreation Commission as Director of the Summer Recreation Program. Robert was a member of the 42nd Infantry Division of the New York State National Guard from 1948 to 1955. Sergeant Mulligan was Assistant Criminal Investigator of the 421d Infantry Military Police. Robert performed on the Keith Vaudeville Circuit and conducted a dance studio in Westchester County for twelve years teaching ballroom dancing to more than four hundred teenagers and adults. After moving to Vermont in 1984, Robert was employed for three years by the Bennington Rutland Supervisory Union in Manchester, Vermont. Subsequently, he was a Title 1 reading teacher in Bennington, Vermont for nine years until his retirement in 1997. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Lions Club. Robert was predeceased by his sister, Irene Rogers. He is survived by his wife, Dr. Joan Mulligan; daughter, Elissa Mulligan; granddaughter, Rebecca Hooker; great granddaughter, Adelaide Hooker; a sister, Dorothy Fugardi and her husband, Joseph, and many nieces and nephews. Services are private. Arrangements are under the direction of the Conroy-Tully Walker South Portland Chapel, South Portland. To view Robert's memorial page, or to share an online condolence, please visit www.ConroyTullyWalker.com