James McMullan Obituary

McMullan, James Michael Died Monday, April 16, 2012 surrounded by his family at his home in Lake Forest, Illinois. He was 77. Mr. McMullan worked in the securities business for 50 years, 41 of which were with William Blair & Company in Chicago. Mr. McMullan joined William Blair & Company in 1969. Three years later he became a partner of the firm. Mr. McMullan worked in a number of different capacities at William Blair & Company over the years. He was Manager of Syndicate from 1972 - 1986 and Manager of Equity Trading from 1981-1995. He also managed the Private Investor Department from 1986 -1997 and he was Director of William Blair Mutual Funds, Inc. from 1990-1999. Mr. McMullan served on William Blair & Company's Executive Committee for over twenty years as well. 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 Mr. McMullan's retirement in 2011. Mr. McMullan continued to be a trusted advisor to the team until his death. Mr. McMullan was engaged throughout his career in industry affairs having served 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. Mr. 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 through 1978. James (Jim) McMullan was born the eldest son to Milton and Thelma McMullan on June 27, 1934 in Lake, Mississippi and raised in Newton, Mississippi. He is survived by two sisters, Martha Ann Aasen (Lawrence), and Sarah McMullan, and one brother, the late David (Patricia). He attended the University of Mississippi in Oxford, graduating in 1956 with a B.B.A. in finance. 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 C.I.A. Three days later, Mr. McMullan proposed marriage to her in Senator James O. Eastland's car. Madeleine and Jim were married for 54 years. Mr. McMullan joined Merrill Lynch in Jackson, Mississippi as an account executive in 1961. Later, after moving to Chicago and joining William Blair & Company, Mr. McMullan received his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago in 1976. Maintaining lifelong ties to both Mississippi and to Chicago, Mr. McMullan was involved in many philanthropic efforts. He served as Director of the University of Mississippi Foundation and Advisory Council Chair, and later as Advisory Council Member of The Center for Southern Culture 2001-Present. In 1996 Mr. McMullan gifted two joint professorships between the University of Mississippi's Center for Southern Culture and two other departments on campus. In 2004, Mr. McMullan established the Madeleine and James M. McMullan Carl E Eybel, MD, Chair of Excellence in Clinical Cardiology. Additionally, Mr. and Mrs. James M. McMullan recently endowed a Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory for the new wing at Rush University Medical Center. In addition to their residence in Lake Forest, Illinois, Mr. and Mrs. McMullan have a home in Pass Christian, Mississippi. After hurricane Katrina destroyed Pass Christian, Mr. and Mrs. McMullan were among the first homeowners to rebuild due to their deep connection to the community, donating generously to the Red Cross, the Pass Christian fire station, and the Pass Christian library. He is survived by his wife, Madeleine; his two daughters, Carlette McMullan, Principal with William Blair & Company of Chicago, Illinois and her husband John Gibbons, Margaret McMullan, writer and Melvin M. Peterson Endowed Chair in Literature and Writing at the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana and her husband Patrick O'Connor; and two grandchildren, Madeleine Honor Gibbons and James Raymond O'Connor. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. There will be a memorial service at the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest on Saturday, April 21 at 10:30 a.m. Donations may be sent in memory of Jim McMullan to the Eudora Welty Foundation, P.O. Box 55685, Jackson, MS 39296-5685. Info: Wenban Funeral Home, Lake Forest, 847-234-0022 or www.wenbanfh.com