Brian McCorry Family Pictures

Brian McCorry sent these pictures of his children and grandchildren to share on the McCorry Family Blog:

Mia Aspen Mc Corry. Born Sept. 9, 2005

Lisa Palumbo McCorry (l), Brian's daughter-in-law, and Liz McCorry, Brian's daughter.

Mia Aspen McCorry, Grandpa Brian, and Mia's big brother, Michael Patrick McCorry.

David McCorry (l), father of Mia (c) and son of Brian McCorry (r)

Unfortunately, the occasion was the funeral of Lisa's mother in St. Louis. If you have pictures from your family gatherings, joyous or solemn, and would like to share them, e-mail them to me at mullico@gmail.com

Disneyland 2005

Tricia and Erin Freer, Bill, Robert and (our nephew) Casey Mullins visited Disneyland after Christmas in 2005

2005 McCorry Family Christmas Letter

Blessings of the Christmas Season to All: Christmas 2005

When Pat (Schield) Werth and her daughter Megan met Megan’s husband Nadim Rabbaa’s flight from Paris at San Francisco International Airport earlier this year, they held up a sign for him like the ones limo drivers use. Only this one announced that Nadim was to become a father! Their daughter, Juliana Marie Rabbaa, was born in California on Nov. 24, Thanksgiving Day, making Pat and her husband Jay grandparents for the first time.
Juliana (left) was one of several bundles of joy delivered to members of the extended McCorry Clan in 2005. I hope you all had a joyous and fulfilling year and that the Lord blesses you and shows you His love in 2006.
Peter Jonas became a grandfather again when his daughter Jane and her husband Matt Zbinden introduced Margaret Elizabeth Zbinden to the world on Nov. 4. Abigail is now the big sister! Not to be typecast in the “grandfather” role, however, Peter played in his 45th Toilet Bowl this Thanksgiving!
Mia Aspen McCorry was born Sept. 9 to David McCorry and his wife Lisa, of Durango, Colo. David is the son of Brian and Betsy McCorry. Nora Kathleen Hirthe was born May 4 to Linda and Pete Hirthe. Linda is the mother of our nephew Casey George Mullins, who is coming to here Dec. 26 to visit Disneyland with his California relatives. Evan Charles Freshley was born April 8 to Michele and Josh Freshley, of Alameda, Calif. Michele is our brother-in-law Ken Freer’s daughter from his first marriage.
Not to be outdone by all of them, Jane (Jonas) Williams delivered her 65th baby this year. Jane is a “doula,” one who assists a woman during labor and post-delivery, and was named Doula of the Year for 2004 by the University of California-San Diego Hearts and Hands Doula Program. “John T. loves to introduce me and says, ‘This is my wife. She’s had 65 babies!’” Jane says.
Srs. Benedicta and Aquinice still live in Chicago. Sr. Aquinice turned 80 Jan. 31 and was honored by her siblings, nieces and nephews with a party Feb. 6 at Sarah (Jonas) Przybylowski’s restaurant, Café Lulu, in Bay View. The nuns also made it to the annual cousins’ picnic this summer in Milwaukee at which the Jonas, Schield and Mullins families were represented (aunts Betty and Eleanor are pictured below).
Betty and Carroll Schield, now great-grandparents, moved in February to a retirement community in Port Richey, Fla. Sons Dan and David bought them a new computer to make e-mailing easier. “We do better, but we still need a grandchild sitting beside us” to help operate it, Betty says. They plan to visit Pat and Jay and see the new baby in Santa Rosa early next year. Mary Alice lives nearby and Joe may be moving to Northern California soon from San Diego if a new job comes through. Pat and Jay’s son Justin got married Jan. 19. His bride’s name is Ania. Jim Schield moved his family from California to Virginia this year for a new job as chief of the International Investigative Branch of the U.S. Marshal’s Service. David sided his house in Middleton, Wis., this year.
Mary Ann McCorry lives in Quincy but needs help getting around town now that she has stopped driving. A friend takes her to Mass; she still takes personal enrichment classes and is one of the Friends of the Library, selling donated books to raise money. Her son Dan and his wife, Robin, still live in the D.C. area. Their son Devin is a junior at the University of Michigan; son Gavin is in his second year at the Air Force Academy; and daughter Chelsea still lives at home. Brian and Betsy McCorry’s oldest son, Patrick, works for Silicon Valley-based Google Inc. but is soon moving to its offices in Dublin. Yes, the one in IRELAND! Daughter Lizzie graduated from Notre Dame and hopes to settle in Chicago; son Andrew is a high school senior who excels in cross-country; son Matthew, a junior, is a “barista” at a Starbucks. Mary Ann’s daughter, Maureen, teaches at the same school her children Meghan and Patrick attend; and son Michael is active in Special Olympics.
Kathy (Mullins) Gesley’s daughter Maureen started this fall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the alma mater of both her parents. Bill Mullins moved into a new place in Los Angeles and shares stories of the celebrities he sees when attending events at the Geffen Theater. Betty traveled to Williamsburg, Va., to celebrate her birthday in September. We visited her there years ago when the Brothers and Sisters singing group she was in performed at the nearby Busch Gardens theme park. Mary Mullins, her husband Bill Van Pelt and daughter Lizzie, hosted a 50th birthday party for me in Milwaukee May 22. I’m told “50 is the new 30!” I bought a condo in Santa Clara, Calif., where I live with my dog “Yankee,” a sweet 4-year-old Corgi I adopted after his owner, a former editor at the San Jose Business Journal, died of cancer. Yankee only barks when the doorbell rings. Or a doorbell rings on TV! (“No, Yankee. That’s Gabrielle going over to Bree Van de Camp’s house!”) I left the Business Journal in September after 14 years at the papers in San Jose and Milwaukee. I’m freelancing while looking for something new. Tricia’s husband Ken is cancer-free after undergoing colon cancer surgery and chemotherapy. We all thank God for his full recovery. Their daughter Erin now drives and is involved in school plays and her church group. Joe still works at Buck Bradley’s bar-restaurant in Milwaukee. Eileen lives in the Milwaukee area, too.
Paul Jonas bought a home in Bay View this year and his upstairs tenant is his brother Michael. Tess Jonas Moede graduated this year with an accounting degree from The College of St. Catherine in St. Paul. Jane’s husband J.T.’s son Ryan passed the California Bar exam and works at Luce Forward, a law firm in San Diego. Mary Pat’s son Jared turned 21 this year, a milestone marked by a family trip to Disney World. Son Jeremy also attends UW-Madison. Anna’s husband John Borden’s mother passed away this year and J.T.’s grandmother died after reaching the age of 100.
That’s it for now. Stay in touch. Have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Love,


Robert Mullins

2004 McCorry Family Christmas Letter

Blessings of the Season to All, Christmas 2004

I hope you are all doing well this holiday season and able to share it with family, friends and loved ones. Throughout the year it’s hard to stay in touch with so many McCorry relatives that I hope this letter can bring you up to date as best as possible.
The year began on a sad note when our uncle, Fr. Robert Mullins (left), died March 4. He had turned 90 three months before. He spent his life in God's service. He was ordained in 1945, was pastor of a parish in Thompson, N.D., and taught at the University of North Dakota-Grand Forks. We will always remember his devotion to God and his gentle and loving ways with our family. Kathy, Betty, Mary and Lizzie and I flew to Fargo for the services. He was buried in a small cemetery near St. Jude’s Church in Thompson.

Our nephew Casey George Mullins has a new half-brother. Thomas Walter Hirthe was born April 27 to Pete Hirthe and Linda Mullins-Hirthe, who married in November 2003. They are expecting another child this coming May.
Members of the Jonas family visited the maternity ward this year, too. Jamison Jonas Borden (below) , 22 inches, 10 lbs., 11 ounces, was born in August to John and Anna Borden, their third. His parents toasted his birth in the delivery room with shots of Jameson’s, of course! No, just kidding! That didn’t happen!
He was baptized with it.
Tess Jonas Moede graduated this month from St. Catherine’s college in St. Paul with an undergraduate degree in accounting. Jane’s son Luke Shaner bought a house in St. Paul and is building the garage himself, “brick-by-brick,” his mother says. Luke works for Wold Architects and Engineers in St. Paul. Her other son, Jonas, works in San Diego while pursuing a nursing degree at San Diego State University. Jane’s husband John T.’s son Ryan passed the California Bar exam and works for a law firm in San Diego. Son Scott works for a staffing services firm in San Francisco. Mary Pat and Michael Groth’s son Jeremy began studies this fall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Jim Jonas sent me a post card in July from Costa Rica, where he was vacationing with his brother Peter.
The Schield family gathered at Never-Never Land this summer for a reunion. Pat Werth, Mary Alice, Betty and Carroll met in Milwaukee with the nuns, who came up from Chicago and Joe and Betty Mullins at the Jonases. Betty and Carroll’s Florida home escaped damage from all three of the hurricanes that hit that state this year. David Schield started a business this year in Madison, Third Hand Solutions, which makes point-of-sale graphic design products. Those are store displays for products. Since he works from home, David has dinner on the table when Becky gets home from her job at US Bank. Daughter Jessica is in her second year at UW-Stout studying hotel-restaurant management; Jeff is finishing high school and trying to line up a college scholarship; and Grace, 12, is active in soccer.
Srs. Benedicta and Aquinice are in Chicago. Auntie B was fitted with two hearing aids, “the better to hear you with my dear,” she says. Auntie A was diagnosed with diabetes but is able to treat it with proper diet. I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes last year, so I can no longer live on the “Oh, you’re so skinny, you can eat anything” diet. I control it with diet and exercise. Those FDA food labels make interesting reading!
My sister Tricia’s husband, Ken, is finishing up chemotherapy after colon cancer surgery this past May. Their daughter Erin, 15, was in a school play attended by various relatives. It was a murder mystery and she was the murderer! Can someone get typecast at 15? Her school is doing “South Pacific” next year, which her Aunt Betty appeared in years before. Tricia and Erin visited Milwaukee in October, I did in June, and Kathy did in November. Kathy and her son, Brendan, fly to Boston Dec. 26. Bill is now a full time tech writer at Shopzilla.com (formerly Bizrate), a comparison shopping Web site in Santa Monica. He started as a contract worker but they liked his work and took him on. Bill and I joined Mary in San Diego in November for her mother-in-law Berniece Van Pelt’s funeral. She was 86. Kathy’s daughter Maureen, 17, is spending the holidays in Dublin with a school friend. With trips to Ireland, Paris, Japan and South America already stamped on her passport, she has more frequent flier miles than her aunts and uncles combined!
Brian McCorry sent out an e-mail earlier this year congratulating his wife, Betsy, for winning the “Hearts Afire” award, an honor for church and community service. She has been president of the Sacred Heart Parish Council at their parish. “I'm writing to brag about Betsy because she won't,” Brian wrote. Dan McCorry’s wife, Robin, is planning to take her mother-in-law, Aunt MaryAnn, to Austria next year. Sounds exciting!
I’ve included another address list, updated as well as I can keep up. Stay in touch. Brian Mc Corry e-mails me news articles about current affairs and I send others back. And David Schield usually has a good e-mail joke to pass around. One was an updated version of the “Catholic Vocabulary.” A few of the entries:

Amen: The only part of the prayer that everyone knows.
Ten Commandments: The most important Top Ten list not given by DavidLetterman.
Bulletin: Your receipt for attending Mass.

Best wishes to all of you for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2003 McCorry Family Christmas Letter

Christmas 2003
Dear All,

As we celebrate the birth of Christ, may the blessings of the holiday season be with all of you during this time.
In 2003, Srs. Benedicta and Aquinice retired from their ministry at Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish, many of the Mullinses enjoyed a wonderful trip to Ireland, Pat and Jay Werth’s daughter Megan was married in Paris and Aunt Mary Ann McCorry’s children gathered this year to celebrate her 80th birthday. These are some of the ways in which the cousins celebrated milestones this year in the company of family.
Relatives traveled to Chicago June 18 for the “glorious sendoff” to Aunt Rita, who served 37 years at Mount Carmel, and Aunt Eleanor, who served there for 27. Sr. Benedicta served three years as school principal and as the first director of the Mount Carmel Prayer Center. Sr. Aquinice served nine years as a teacher and 13 as principal. “It’s been a long time since these two girls from Milwaukee bravely crossed the cheddar curtain of Wisconsin to live with us in Chicago and became part of the Mount Carmel family that has changed us forever,” said the Rev. Thomas Healy in his homily at the service. The nuns now live at the Mercy Motherhouse in Chicago.
In October, six of the nine Mullins children, plus in-laws, nieces and nephews traveled to Ireland to visit relatives and see their ancestral homeland. Tricia Freer and her husband Ken invited us to accompany them to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. At one time, our party had 13 people. Our trip included a visit to Newry to see Annie Bruton, a cousin to Eleanor, Betty, Dan, Mary, etc. on their father’s side of the McCorry family. We also visited the home of Joe McCoy (center, holding dog, in photo below), a cousin on their mother’s side of the family. Joe and his wife Alice live in the home in which Grandma McCorry was born.
We had dinner with Mary and Malachy Smith. Mary (nee McDonald) is a niece of Grandpa McCorry. During our visit, we learned the news of the Oct. 5th death of Von Sherry, another cousin on the McCoy side of the family, but unfortunately, missed the service.
Update all your family trees!
Our sister-in-law Linda Mullins remarried on Nov. 16th in Milwaukee. Her new husband, Pete Hirthe, a Bay View native known to some of the Jonases, is a great guy, especially to our nephew, Casey, age 8. He will soon be a big brother as Linda and Pete are expecting a child next May. We scattered some of our late brother John’s ashes while in Ireland. Casey threw a handful of ashes into the air, but the wind blew them back in his face. Said Casey: “I guess he doesn’t want to leave me.”
Bill Mullins starts a new job in January as a tech writer for BizRate.com, a comparison shopping Web site in the L.A. area. We are very happy for him. Mary, husband Bill Van Pelt, and daughter Lizzie, moved into a new home in Shorewood, just around the corner from Betty Mullins. On Dec. 5th, our uncle, and my namesake, Fr. Robert Mullins, turned 90. He still lives in Saint Cloud, Minn.
Pat and Jay Werth’s daughter was married in Paris this past summer to Nadim Rabbaa on July 26 at Cathedral St. Etienne. Megan met Jadim on a visit to Paris just a few years ago. Wendy and her daughter Brittany were among the attendees. The groom and his family are from Lebanon. “Nadim's family is very warm and loving - his mother especially so,” writes Pat. “We communicated even though we did not speak the same language. Megan was beautiful and even took my breath away when she arrived at the church!”
Mary Alice Schield moved this year from Connecticut to Napa, Calif., near Pat and Jay’s home in Santa Rosa, and works as a dental hygienist there. Aunt Betty and Uncle Carroll will stay a month or so in California to consider relocating here from Florida.
The McCorry children and grandchildren gathered in Quincy, Ill., to mark the 80th birthday of Mary Ann in May (see photo). “The party was a blast,” reports Brian McCorry. “We even let her have some Irish whiskey!”
Brian is looking for work after being “restructured” out of his job as a VP at a manufacturing firm. We wish him the best of luck in finding what he needs. His wife, Betsy has started a writing and editing career and has a sold a few stories, Brian reports. Their son Patrick lives in San Francisco and works at Google, the search engine company. Son David, his wife Lisa and their son Michael, live in Colorado. Michael is walking and talking now. Daughter Liz is now a junior at Notre Dame after a year of studies in France.
Maureen has returned to teaching. Her and husband David’s son Michael is in high school and has served as an ambassador of Goodwill for the Special Olympics, which involves public speaking. Meghan is active in Irish dance.
The other McCorry grandchildren are active in sports, school and other activities.
Aunt Teresa Jonas showed she is still the “cool Aunt” by riding on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle during the 100th anniversary of the Milwaukee company last summer. But her latest mode of transportation, temporarily, is a walker, after falling and breaking her pelvis around Labor Day. The accident happened in the choir loft at church. “I’ll either have to give up singing or give up church,” she says.
Eleanor Borden, daughter of Anna and John Borden, started kindergarten this fall. Jared, son of Mary Pat and Michael Groth, graduated from Cudahy High School. Tess, who lives in the Minneapolis area, took a course in golfing which involved a trip to Scotland to play the famous St. Andrew’s course! Jane still lives in San Diego with husband John T. Williams. She has recently started working as a doula (pronounced doola), who assists with labor/delivery and support and advice for a new mother post-natal. Anna is planning an expansion of the restaurant she co-owns in Bay View, Café Lulu. It may soon be large enough to hold a reunion of McCorrys and assorted relatives!
If I have left anything out, please let me know. Best wishes to all of you and may you all have a great holiday and a prosperous 2004!

Best wishes,

Robert Mullins

2002 McCorry Family Christmas Letter

To All, Christmas 2002

May the joy of the blessed season of Christmas be with all of you!
I hope things are well as another year comes to a close and 2003 approaches. Here now, the news:
The Schield family gathered in November in New Orleans to celebrate two milestones. Carroll Schield turned 85 and he and wife Betty marked their 60th wedding anniversary. Hey, you youngsters: How old was Carroll when he married Betty? The reunion was held in New Orleans as that was where they honeymooned in 1942. All their children and their spouses attended. The weekend event included dinner at the famous Emeril Lagasse's Delmonico restaurant for a five-course meal that included roasted quail stuffed with feta cheese. Also while there, Betty and Carroll visited Saint Louis Cathedral where they were wed and the old Roosevelt Hotel where they spent their honeymoon.
“We thought it would be nice to get them together in the city where they spent their honeymoon,” writes David. “It was good to see everyone all together.”
Pat and Jay’s daughter Megan is engaged to be married to a young man from Lebanon who owns an Internet café in Paris where they met…Megan’s brother Justin lives in Paris, too…Dan and Bobbie’s daughter Miranda is enrolled at Marquette University in Milwaukee…Some of you may have seen U.S. Marshall Jim Schield on the “Today” show and other national newscasts commenting on the arrest of a priest in San Diego who was being extradited to Boston to face charges…David and Becky’s daughter Jessica was part of a cheerleading squad winning state honors and moving on to national competition in Orlando.
Brian McCorry has become a grandfather and Aunt MaryAnn a great-grandmother this year. Brian’s son David, and David’s girlfriend Lisa Palumbo, had a son, Michael Patrick McCorry, on Sept. 17. “We are thrilled!!” says Brian. His son Patrick is in Washington, D.C., working for an organization that works with legislatures in Africa. He's traveled to the Dark Continent several times this year, his father tells us. Daughter Lizzie is a sophomore at Notre Dame, studying in France this year, following in the footsteps of her mother, father, and oldest brother. Maureen Drabik's family is busy with sports, piano, Irish dancing, violin and other activities.
Betty Mullins marked her 50th birthday in September in an unusual way. She traveled to Scotland to participate in a bird counting conservation program of the Earthwatch Institute. She stayed in a 200-year old stone cottage with other volunteers on the project. “We really did hike and make bird observations all day long,” Betty writes. “Scotland was wonderful. I’m so glad I went.” Linda Mullins, John’s widow, is engaged to be married to Pete Hirthe, her son Casey’s soccer coach and a Bay View resident. Casey, who turns 8 in January, is well on his way to becoming the next Harry Potter! Kathy moved to Palo Alto from Albany (near Berkeley) to be closer to her new job. Kathy’s two youngest, Maureen and Brendan, live with their father Roy in Berkeley so they can finish high school. Brendan plans to train to become a paramedic, a noble calling! Bill lives with Kathy until he can find a job. He was laid off twice in the past year from optical networking equipment firms as Silicon Valley’s economic travails continue. I still report on said travails for the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. I covered a press conference of FBI Director Robert Mueller and Bill asked me to ask him if the FBI needs any technical writers. Tricia’s husband Ken underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery in October. He is recovering well enough to do some remodeling on their house. A water leak destroyed carpets and presented an opportunity to redecorate. It’s good that Ken’s back on his feet. I showed him an article from the Wall Street Journal about how Home Depot’s sales growth slowed in the quarter when he was laid up!
Teresa Jonas underwent radiation treatment for breast cancer this year. “I’m fine,” she reports, and we are all glad of that. Jim Jonas is working as a substitute teacher in Milwaukee Public Schools, teaching English literature to high school seniors. Anna and John Borden are spending their first Christmas in their new house this year in South Milwaukee; with room enough for them and their two children, Eleanor and Paul.
Srs. Benedicta and Aquinice still reside at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Chicago. They spent a few days in New York City, the trip a gift of a parishioner. Sr. B. says they didn't get to Ellis Island this time, as they did on a previous trip, but they did stand in awe at ground zero.
If I missed any important news of any of you, please pass it on or share with your relatives directly. The included Cousins Address Book has lots of new addresses, and especially e-mail addresses, for many of you. It’s good to keep in touch.
Finally, for all of you with Wisconsin roots, this from Brian McCorry:
Two tourists were driving through Wisconsin. As they were approaching Oconomowoc, they started arguing about the pronunciation of the town’s name. They argued back and forth until they stopped for lunch. As they stood at the counter, one tourist asked the employee, “Before we order, could you please settle an argument for us? Would you please pronounce where we are…very slowly?” The blonde leaned over the counter and said, “Burrrrrr-gerrrrrr Kiiiing.”
Enjoy and have a great 2003!

Love and best wishes,


Robert Mullins

2001 McCorry Family Christmas Letter

Christmas 2001
Dear All,

During this time of national challenge and terrible tragedy, we appreciate the affirmation that life is beautiful and goes on. It is in that spirit that I begin by telling you of the first birth of a great-grandchild of the McCorry USA family. Abigail Jane Zbinden was born Nov. 29 in Milwaukee to Jane (Jonas) and Matthew Zbinden, who were married in 2000. Jane is the daughter of Peter Jonas and grandchild of Bud and Teresa, which makes Peter a grandfather and Bud and Teresa great-grandparents. Abigail, weighing in at 9 lbs., 9 oz., including a lot of hair, is doing fine, as is her mother. Congratulations and best wishes to all.
The Jonases also welcomed a new business into the world this year when Sarah (Jonas) Przybylowski (spell-check stops here every time) and her business partner in April opened Café Lulu, an eatery in Bay View. It is a funky little diner in a former George Webb’s restaurant and has already received a write-up in Milwaukee Magazine. Famous celebrities spotted there include Srs. A & B, Aunt Betty Schield and Tricia Freer (Mullins). Jonas Shaner (Jane’s youngest son) moved from Minnesota to California in June to continue his studies there to become a chiropractor.
Bill Mullins moved from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area in March to be closer to his other California siblings and to take a job with an optical networking company. Unfortunately, when business stalled after Sept. 11, he was let go and is job hunting. He, Robert, Tricia, Ken, Erin (their daughter) and Maureen (Kathy’s daughter) visited Milwaukee in August to attend IrishFest and the Dwyer Family Pig Roast. It was dedicated to John (“Moon”), who died Oct. 17, 2000, and was the chief pig roaster. Joe Mullins assumed John’s duties ably. Joe lives with sister-in-law Linda (Dwyer) and nephew Casey, who now attends the same elementary school that the Jonases attended at Immaculate Conception parish. Brother-in-law Bill Van Pelt lost his father in November. Bill and I drove to San Diego to join Bill Van Pelt, wife Mary Mullins and their daughter Lizzie for the service for Wally Van Pelt, 84. Bill, Mary and Lizzie spent seven summer weeks in Europe as Bill taught at a school in Germany. Betty traveled to New York City in November to defy the terrorists, though she chose train travel over flying.
Members of the Schield family took a bike trip in Italy this summer. Pat (Schield) Werth, her daughter Megan, Wendy (Schield) Smail, Bobbie Schield (Dan’s wife) and her daughter Miranda, were joined by Jane Jonas (Teresa’s daughter) on the tour. Megan met a young man in Paris and stayed there. She is studying French and planning to apply to graduate school. Jim Schield is recovering from hip replacement surgery Dec. 11, already walking around a bit within a few days. Dan is scheduled for surgery to treat carpal tunnel syndrome Dec. 31. Aunt Betty says she is giving her blue rosary beads a workout. We pray for a speedy recovery for both men. Pat and husband Jay hosted a cookout at their Santa Rosa home for the California Mullinses (Kathy, Bill, Robert, Tricia) Labor Day weekend.
The McCorry family had a reunion this summer in Woodbridge, Ill., home of Maureen (McCorry) and David Drabik. Brian and his family were unable to attend, however. Brian’s son Patrick was in France for a few weeks this summer chaperoning a group of high school students.
Sr. Mary Benedicta reports from Chicago that Sr. Mary Aquinice celebrates 60 years with the Religious Sisters of Mercy in 2002, and she anniversary #66. They attended a high school orchestra competition in Evanston, Ill., this year to see Dan McCorry’s sons Devin and Gavin perform. Their school won top honors in the competition. From Ireland comes news that Margaret McDonald (David's wife), who hosted many McCorrys when they visited Newry, died this year shortly after her 90th birthday.
I hope all of you have a great Christmas and a happy 2002. If you want inspiration for the season, listen to the outgoing message on Aunt Mary Ann McCorry’s answering machine: “It’s not the things you do at Christmas that count, it’s the Christmas things you do all year long.”


Love,


Robert Mullins

2000 McCorry Family Christmas Letter

Dear All, Christmas 2000

At this holiday season, I ask you all to remember in your prayers my brother, John, who died suddenly Oct. 17 at 41. As Mullins family members gather in Milwaukee and California to celebrate the holidays together, we are still struggling with his death from a brain aneurysm. I ask you to especially focus your best wishes on his wife, Linda, and their son Casey, 5, who are very dear to us. The death of John, known to many by the nickname “Moon,” was reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “After a lifetime of making people laugh, John ‘Moon’ Mullins has left them crying,” the paper wrote. When a weekly local paper honored a friend and colleague of Moon’s as “Milwaukee’s Best Bartender,” the friend, Bill Castagnozzi, shared the spotlight with Moon, by writing a separate tribute to him as a “loving husband and father, brother and friend.” At the funeral at Immaculate Conception parish in Milwaukee, members of Linda’s Dwyer family launched into a chorus of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” out on the sidewalk as the casket was placed into the hearse. Thanks to all of you who traveled to Milwaukee to be there. Mary Mullins reports Casey’s classmates at IC school had a special mass Dec. 14 for him out of respect for the loss of his dad. Children participated in the service, which was attended by Casey’s mom, grandmother and other relatives. Mary says the priest noted in his sermon that, “Christmas is a time of hope,” and that no matter what burdens you have to bear, “everything is going to be alright because God loves you.”
Other members of the Mullins family were busy with moving plans. I moved in August to San Jose, Calif., to take a job as a reporter at the San Jose Business Journal, a sister paper to the Milwaukee Business Journal, where I worked for nine years. Joe, meanwhile, moved to Sun Prairie, outside Madison, in September to become a food and beverage manager at the Crowne Plaza Hotel there. Eileen moved back to Milwaukee from New York City in February, in time for 40th birthday celebrations with twin Joe.
When not trying to discern the difference between a dimpled chad and a hanging chad in Florida, Betty and Carroll Schield were enjoying their retirement there. Betty reports grandchild Miranda (Dan and Bobbi’s daughter) landed the lead in her school’s production of “Sleeping Beauty,” sharing the stage with her sister, Emily, who also had a part. Miranda and her cousin Jessica (David and Becky’s daughter) both got their driver’s licenses this year. Wendy has moved to Boulder from San Francisco. Betty had an angioplasty procedure this year (she had bypass surgery in October 1999) and continues her rehabilitation.
Aunt Mary Ann McCorry tells us her oldest son, Dan, left the Air Force after a long career to go into the private sector. Brian’s son, Patrick, is spending a year in Haiti teaching English, volunteering this service after graduating from Notre Dame in May. “I’m very proud of him,” Mary Ann writes. “No homage to wealth, but his service in the most corrupt and poor country in the Western Hemisphere is needed and that is the reward.”
Bud Jonas is recovering from cataract surgery in November, Teresa tells us. Daughter Tess moved to St. Paul, Minn., this year and is near nephews Luke and Jonas Shaner (Jane’s sons) who also live in the Twin Cities. Luke graduated from the University of Minnesota and is pursing a career in architecture, while Jonas is studying to become a chiropractor. Tess’ daughter, Erin, moved to Madison. Peter’s daughter, Jane, married Matt Zbinden on Sept 16 at Immaculate Conception. The newlyweds live in Bay View. Sarah has rented space for her catering business. Anna and husband John Borden are expecting their second child, a boy, in January, the same month their daughter, Eleanor, turns two. I hear Chad is a popular boy’s name these days.
Sr. Mary Aquinice is recovering from hip surgery she underwent in March. Sr. Mary Benedicta heard from her cousin, Annie Bruton, that her sister, Isabel McDonald, (Sister Aquinas) died on March 7 in Ireland. Annie is the last of the McCorry’s 14 cousins in the McDonald Family living. On July 12,1999, another first cousin on Grandma McCorry’s side died in Newry. She lived with her sister, Kathleen Fegan. Sr. Benedicta advises, “Use your family charts to mark their dates of death and thank God for the goodness of their lives.”
Honor the goodness of everyone’s lives, dead and living, as you observe the last Christmas of the 20th century and mark the beginning of the 21st. Best wishes to all of you.

On behalf of the McCorry families,

Robert J. Mullins

1998 McCorry Christmas Letter

Christmas 1998
Dear All,

With this letter, the torch has been passed to a new generation of McCorry writers. Sr. Benedicta asked me to take over writing the annual Christmas letter to all of you. I’m a business reporter so forgive me if I lapse into expressions like secured creditor, amortization schedule and earnings-per-share! Seriously, I’m happy to do the writing.

Sr. Benedicta reached a milestone this year, her 80th birthday, on May 21. On May 17, her Milwaukee area relatives threw her a party at the Clarion Hotel, where Joe Mullins is assistant food and beverage manager. It was a wonderful afternoon of visiting, including a brief ceremony where several of those in attendance gave testimonials. Sr. Aquinice, who lives with Sr. B at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Prayer Center in Chicago, was also in attendance. In mid-December, Rita was hospitalized for tests, so keep her in your prayers.

Betty and Carroll Schield still split their retirement years between summers at their cottage near Neillsville and winters at their home in Florida. Betty says they sometimes hang out in Florida sports bars to watch a Packer game via satellite when it is not broadcast locally. She tells us Pat and her husband Jay live in northern California; their son Justin plays in a band, which aspires to tour in Japan. Wendy and her husband, Terry, are house shopping in San Francisco, where home prices rival state budgets. Their daughter Brittany works the help desk at America OnLine. Brittany’s grandparents, meanwhile, remain computer-phobic. Dan, the dentist, is the only Schield still living year-round in Neillsville. His son, Michael, got a hole-in-one in golf. Mary Alice still lives in Connecticut, but may spend Christmas in Florida. Jim still lives in San Diego working for the US Marshall’s office. (Guess all those years of playing “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” with his Mullins cousins paid off!) Joe also lives in San Diego. David and Becky moved to Farmington Hills, Mich., for his job with Stroh’s Brewery. Becky is returning to school to eventually teach computer science.

Mary Ann McCorry traveled to Delafield, Wis., in June to observe a tribute to her father, the late Dr. Herbert T. Barnes. He was honored as one of the pillars of the community where he practiced medicine. Children Brian, Colleen and Maureen made a surprise trip to be with her on that day. Son Dan lives outside Washington D.C., a colonel in the US Air Force. Dan’s daughter, Chelsea, has traded in ballet slippers for a harp to play alongside her violin- and cello-playing brothers, Davin and Gavin, in the Virginia Youth Symphony. Maureen and David Drabik took their four children on a 32-mile bike trip in New Glarus, Wis., this summer. Son Michael competes in Special Olympics. Mary Ann participates in a “Learning in Retirement” series through Quincy University, taking courses in everything from Shakespeare to computers to the Iran-Iraq conflict. “I don’t play bridge,” she said, “but I still gossip.”

The Mullins children traveled to Chicago in February for the funeral of Thomas Dwyer, the father of John’s wife, Linda. Tricia came to Milwaukee in August with daughter Erin and niece Maureen Gesley to attend Irish Fest and -- along with Joe and Betty -- drive to Chicago to see the nuns. Kathy, who lives near Berkeley, plans a Christmas time visit back home with middle child Brendan. Bill came to Milwaukee, from L.A., for the 40th birthday of John in October. The family went to dinner at a Milwaukee restaurant favorite, Karl Ratzsch’s. Robert hosted a party in May for the last episode of “Seinfeld.” Guests brought such Seinfeldian fare as a Big Salad, muffin tops and Snickers bars you eat with a knife and fork! John and Linda’s son, Casey, turns four in January. Niece Lizzie, 6, daughter of Mary and her husband Bill Van Pelt, attends a French Immersion school in Milwaukee. Eileen still sings for a living in New York City.

Teresa and Bud Jonas celebrated their golden wedding anniversary with a mass July 5 at Gesu Church in Milwaukee. Their 10 children marked Teresa’s 70th birthday by each taking her out for a special celebration (a la the “Twelve Days of Christmas”). One took her out to dinner, another to a play, etc. Look closely at the next box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese you grab from the supermarket shelf. Tom and Sandy Jonas’s son, Connor, won a contest with Kraft and got his picture on some of the boxes. Relatives have reportedly spotted the boxes at stores in Florida and California. Anna and her husband, John, welcomed their daughter Eleanor McCorry Borden, into the world Jan. 25. In her nursery hangs her great-great-grandmother’s “What is a Prayer” sampler stitched in 1853. Her christening was May 17, the same day of the birthday party for her namesake, Eleanor (Sr. B) McCorry.

I hope all of you have a blessed Holiday Season and a prosperous New Year in 1999. Please stay in touch. For those of you computer savvy relatives, I am including email addresses that I am aware of on the attached list of addresses. If you would like your email address distributed, please send it to me (at mullico@gmail.com ) and I’ll send out an updated list to all of you in a few weeks.

Best wishes to all of you.


Yours,
Robert Mullins

Robert Mullins 

Welcome to McCorry Family USA

This is a blog I've created to share news of the extended McCorry family in the United States. All my aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, nephews, nieces and other friends are welcome to visit McCorry Family USA to read and share news, post photos, links and other items of interest. If you'd like to comment, you can use the posting tools on this site or e-mail your comments to mullico@gmail.com and I will post them for you. Enjoy!
Robert Mullins