McMullan Gave Generously to Fund Academic Pursuits

A strong proponent of education, resident James Michael McMullan, 77, died April 16 surrounded by his family.

A native of Mississippi but home to the Chicago area since 1969, McMullan worked in the securities business for 50 years, including 41 with William Blair & Company in Chicago.

Since 1987, McMullan has provided college scholarships for more 24 high school students at his alma mater, Newton High School, where he played football and graduated in 1952. He and his wife, Madeleine, also provided scholarships to area students to attend Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., where she once taught.

McMullan attended the University of Mississippi in Oxford, graduating in 1956 with a bachelor’s degree in finance. He later received his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago in 1976.

He served as director of the University of Mississippi Foundation and Advisory Council Chair, and later as Advisory Council member of the University of Mississippi’s Center for Southern Culture for the last 11 years.

In 1996, The McMullan Fund was announced during a public ceremony at the 23rd annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference. The gift was designated for two joint professorships between the University of Mississippi’s Center for Southern Culture and two other departments on campus.

Most recently in 2012, the McMullans made a donation to the new endowment that honors the work of their friend, retired Associate Director Ann Abadie by supporting the Oxford Conference for the Book. The McMullans attended the conference through the years.

In 2004, McMullan established the Madeleine and James M. McMullan – Carl E Eybel, MD, Chair of Excellence in Clinical Cardiology to honor the career of his personal physician for his exemplary skills as a clinician and as a teacher of fellows, residents and medical students.

Additionally, the McMullans recently endowed a Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory for the new wing at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

On the business end, McMullan began his career as an account executive at Merrill Lynch in Jackson, Miss. After eight years, he moved to William Blair & Company in 1969. Three years later, he became a partner of the firm. McMullan worked in a number of different capacities including manager of Syndicate from 1972 to 1986 and manager of Equity Trading from 1981 to1995.

He also managed the Private Investor Department from 1986 to 1997 and he was director of William Blair Mutual Funds, Inc. from 1990-99. McMullan served on William Blair & Company’s executive committee for more than 20 years.

His daughter, Carlette McMullan, joined the firm as a Financial Advisor in 1989, and together they formed the McMullan team managing investment portfolios for private clients until McMullan’s retirement in 2010.

McMullan was engaged throughout his career in industry affairs, serving on the Board of Governors of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and the Securities Industry Association (SIA). He also served on the Region Firms Advisory Committee to the New York Stock Exchange. McMullan was chairman of the Securities Industry Association Central States District and served on the District 8 Business Conduct Committee of the National Association of Securities Dealers from 1975-78.

McMullan was born the eldest son to Milton and Thelma McMullan on June 27, 1934 in Lake, Miss., and raised in Newton, Miss. He is survived by two sisters, Martha Ann Aasen (Lawrence), and Sarah McMullan, and one brother, the late David (Patricia).

While visiting his sister, Sarah, in Washington, D.C., he met Madeleine Engel de Janosi from Vienna, Austria, who lived in Washington and worked with the CIA. Three days later, McMullan proposed marriage to her in Senator James O. Eastland’s car.

The McMullans were married for 54 years, maintaining lifelong ties to both Mississippi and to Chicago. In addition to their residence in Lake Forest, they have a home in Pass Christian, Miss. The McMullans restored the Gulf Coast home, which was built in 1845 and used as a family vacation home. After hurricane Katrina destroyed Pass Christian, the McMullans were among the first homeowners to rebuild, donating to the Red Cross, the Pass Christian fire station, and the Pass Christian library.

In addition to his wife, McMullan is survived by his two daughters, Carlette McMullan, principal with William Blair & Company of Chicago, and her husband John Gibbons; Margaret McMullan, writer and Melvin M. Peterson, endowed chair in literature and writing at the University of Evansville (Ind.), and her husband Patrick O’Connor; two grandchildren, Madeleine Honor Gibbons and James Raymond O’Connor, and many nieces and nephews.

There will be a memorial service at 10:30 a.m. Saturday (April 21) at the Graveside services will be held at the McMullan family plot in Newton, Miss. In memory of McMullan, contributions may be sent to the Eudora Welty Foundation, P.O. Box 55685, Jackson, MS 39296-5685.

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