Carol Ann Cady Mullen

CAROL ANN CADY MULLEN 

May 9, 1969 – June 30, 2025

  Carol was the only child of Josephine Cady.  She was born in Boston and raised in Medford, where she attended St. Clement’s elementary school and Medford High School.  She sometimes stayed with her grandmother, Antoinette Cady, whom she adored, and with her beloved Uncle Tony and Aunt Denise Cady.  Carol loved singing, sang in the high school choir, and after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, made a rap CD to preserve her voice.  She called it “My Name Is Chicky,” which is what her family often called her.  She also loved dancing, particularly hip-hop and break-dancing.  

    During high school she worked at Dunkin Donuts.  She was in charge and would often work very late, closing the place, and then go to school the next day.  She was a hard worker and was great with the customers, having their coffee ready for them in the mornings so they wouldn’t have to wait and miss the train.  She played basketball with her friends, especially Patty and Kim, at the local park, or they would hang out in Medford Square or the Meadow Glenn Mall.  Carol loved shopping.

    She ran her own convenience store in Allston, but decided, after she was robbed at knife-point, that working alone late nights was not a safe career for a woman. She went to Catherine Hinds and earned a degree as an esthetician. During that timeshe was married to Fernando Cury.  Their marriage ended in divorce.

    At the age of 29, unable to walk because of MS, she moved into the Reservoir Nursing Facility in Waltham.  While there she met Robert Mullen, and they married in October of 1999.  They lived in Watertown until Bob’s death in 2008.  Afterward she lived alone for eight years, assisted by visiting personal care attendants, until circumstances beyond her control made that impossible.  She moved into a nursing home in Lexington, and then in 2018 she was admitted to The Boston Home in Dorchester, a facility that specializes in caring for individuals with neurological diseases.  She lived there seven years and received excellent and loving care from the well-trained staff and made many friends among residents and staff alike.  

    Carol was a beautiful, fiercely alive woman.  She took on the world on her terms.  She once had eight T-shirts that said, “Don’t mistake kindness for weakness.”   She was determined not to let living in an electric wheelchair narrow her world.  She found international friends on the internet and used Zoom to gather with friends and attend church.  Because of her own brave suffering, she understood people on a deeper level than most, yet always retained an inner radiance that could be seen in her bright eyes and ready smile.

    She is survived by her Aunt Denise Cady of Clearwater, Florida, and by all of us who loved her.  

    A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, July 9, at 2:00 p.m. at The Boston Home, 2049 Dorchester Avenue, Boston MA 02124.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Boston Home.

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