Gloria Margaret Webb Mulligan's Obituary
Gloria Margaret Webb Mulligan, a native of Alexandria and a resident of Covington since 1950, died peacefully at the age of 83 in her home on Monday, March 30, 2009.
Gloria was the only child of John and Maude Wells Webb.
Gloria went to school in Alexandria for several years prior to her family’s move to New Orleans. While in New Orleans, she finished High School and then attended Charity Hospital School of Nursing for her initial nurse’s training. Gloria completed her nurse’s training as a Registered Nurse at Lakeshore Hospital. It was at Lakeshore Hospital that she met Dr. Raymond F. Mulligan, who became her husband in 1948. Gloria served our country as a Nurse Cadet during the Korean War while her husband was in the Naval Reserve. After their marriage, they moved to Rhode Island. When Dr. Mulligan returned from Korea, the family moved to Covington. Gloria was busy raising her family, but was always available to help out at the clinic that her husband and Dr. Jake Kety had in Madisonville, LA. That clinic was in the now historic building that was the former St. Tammany Parish Library. In 1955 Gloria was suddenly left as a widow when her husband was killed in an airplane crash. Dr. Mulligan has been a Physician for the Civil Air Patrol at the time of the accident. Gloria was left with 5 children, ranging in age from 6 years old to 4 months old. One year after Dr. Mulligan’s death, Gloria purchased the Riverside Inn on Boston Street in Covington. Gloria and her mother, Maude Webb, ran the restaurant for 17 years. Gloria always said, “If nothing else, my children won’t starve!” When her youngest child graduated from high school, Gloria quit the restaurant business and returned to her first love, nursing. Three months later she went to work for St. Tammany Home Health where she worked until retirement. She worked as a filed RN, a Supervisor, then as Director. She late did public relations and marketing as well as running the blood pressure clinic.
Gloria was a member of the Business and Professional Women’s Club and had held every office in the club, including President. She was elected as BPW Women of the Year in 1982. She was one of the founders of Playmakers of Covington and Lurline Smith Mental Health Center in Mandeville. She was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Covington Garden Club, Louisiana State Nurse’s Association and a parishioner of St. Peter Catholic Church.
Gloria loved family above all else, and her greatest pleasure was being surrounded by her loved ones. She loved traveling, ballroom dancing and her beloved pets, Ginger and Little Bit. Gloria was an exceptional woman who was thought by all to be a true lady. An irreplaceable gem, she had a huge heart and a kind, gentle soul. Gloria’s sweet smile, soft voice and determined spirit were the very essence of who she was.
Gloria was preceded in death by her parents, John and Maude Webb, her husband Dr. Ray Mulligan, her half-brother, JW Webb, Jr. (Joyce) and her daughter, Patricia Eileen Mulligan. She is survived by her children, Raymond Francis II (Terrie), John Thomas (Carrie), Michael Webb (Julie), and Barbara Mulligan, a loving niece, Elizabeth (Tom) Bergeron, 10 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren and countless friends. Gloria was the best wife, mother, grandmother, mother-in-law and friend anyone could ask for.
The Mulligan family invites relatives and friends to attend the funeral service from E.J. Fielding Funeral Home Inc., 2260 W. 21st. Ave., Covington, LA 70433 on Friday, April 3, 2009 at 10:00 AM. Visitation on Thursday from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM and again on Friday from 9:00 AM until service time.
Interment in Garden of the Pines Cemetery, Covington.
In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer donations to be made in Gloria’s name to the American Heart Association, Mary Byrd Perkins Cancer Center, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
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