Estelle Mullin

Estelle Sophia Averbach was born to Joseph and Fannie Averbach in Pottsville, PA on Nov. 24, 1927. As a young woman, she moved to the Grand Concourse in the Bronx with her family (parents, sister Norma, and brothers Marvin and Herb). At the age of 18, she met and married Herbert Israel Mullin, a recently returned WWII vet, also a resident of the Grand Concourse. She attended college at the City University of New York, and became a high school English teacher as did her husband. While attending college and gaining their professional credentials, including Masters of Arts degrees, both Estelle and her husband were busy raising four children (Linda, Neil, Nancy and Larry). Their household was a lively one - filled with stories and discussions related to both literature, and to the politics of the times in which they lived.

Estelle was one of the first students in the country to get her M.A. in English as a Second Language (at NYU). As a teacher at Walton H.S., Morris H.S. and Clarkstown North in NYS, she was popular with her students, both the gifted and the challenged. Knowledgeable, kind, and with a good sense of humor, she enjoyed getting to know her teenage students as individuals, even while raising her own (sometimes rebellious) teenagers at home.

While teaching and raising her family (first in the Bronx, later in Upper Nyack, NY), Estelle was also an avid reader, and part-time student of visual arts, and of various crafts. She especially enjoyed painting with watercolors. Even at the end of her life (at the age of 91), she maintained her love of reading. (Until her final week, she read the New York Times from cover to cover every day, and had just finished reading Michelle Obama's autobiography before she passed away). She also maintained her appreciation of beauty until the end, surrounding herself with works of art and flowering plants, and wearing her favorite brooches, necklaces, and rings.

Estelle was a devoted wife to Herb for more than 60 years, and enjoyed travelling with him, especially to Southern France, as they got older. She was also a devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Her greatest gifts to her family and friends were her calm intelligence, and her patient, even-handed way of listening to a problem or dilemma. Even her grandchildren would consult her on personal and professional problems. She had the ability to listen carefully, and to offer calm, non-judgmental, practical, wise advice on everything from relationships to career-related decisions, to financial issues, to politics, etc. Nothing seemed to daunt or surprise her.

Estelle was a strong, gentle, intelligent, independent and compassionate Mother, Grandmother, and Great-Grandmother who is very much missed by all who loved her. She is survived by her children Linda Miller, Neil Mullin, Nancy DeNicolo and Larry Mullin, her sons-in-law Michael Wilde and John DeNicolo, daughter-in-law, Nancy Smith, her 9 grandchildren, and her 13 great-grandchildren.