Rosemary Mulligan

On December 8, 2020, Rosemary Mulligan (née MacDonald) passed away at the age of 89, leaving this physical world to enter a more perfect spiritual life. She was born on April 24, 1931, in San Francisco and raised by Isabelle MacDonald, her maternal grandmother (“Mom”), a Scottish immigrant. Despite living through the Great Depression, Rosemary viewed the world through rose-colored glasses, an attitude that inspired all. Proud of her heritage, she learned Scottish dancing and singing, spending the summer of 1940 at The Scottish Village (Golden Gate International Exposition). After attending high school, she worked for Pacific Telephone Telegraph and the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. In 1952, Rosemary met and married a hitch-hiking airman, Dick Mulligan, who became her life partner. On August 9, 2020, they celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary. From San Francisco, she moved down the Peninsula to South San Francisco, Belmont, then Woodside, seeking warmth, then they moved north following family to Eugene. Wherever she went, Rosemary and Dick were surrounded by friends and family—her home was open to everyone. She never locked the front door--her Woodside house didn’t have a key. The mother of four children, eight grandchildren, and three great grandchildren, Rosemary was the powerful matriarch of the family, the center that held all together. Rosemary also loved adventures, playing tennis in Woodside tournaments, dancing at the Marines Memorial Ballroom, working at Denali National park, singing with the Song Spinners and the Frist Congregational Church, volunteering at local schools, canoeing down the Green River, rafting on the Rogue, backpacking the Sierras, and traveling the world: Scotland, Sweden, England, Ireland, Paris, Interlaken, Barcelona, Majorca, Bermuda, Costa Rica, and Baja California, plus many trips to visit wandering family. Rosemary also loved her many dogs, from her first collie Laddie to her pit-bull Tillie, but it was her rescued border collie Jocko that had a special place in her heart—tears came to her eyes when she talked of him, and she talked of him often. Following her Mom’s Scottish saying: “What’s for you will not go by you,” Rosemary lived life knowing she was part of a divine plan beyond this material world--she celebrated each day as a gift. She is survived by her husband Dick Mulligan; her four children—Roark Mulligan and his wife Helena, Kyle Mulligan and his wife Helen, Kerry Augustyniak and her husband Tom, and Mara Mulligan; her six grandchildren--Kyan Mulligan, Chelsey Augustyniak, Mika Burkett and her husband Jonathan, Huck Mulligan, Walker Augustyniak, and Maraya Wyrick; her three step grandchildren—Kelsey Wyrick, Jamie McDaniel, and Camie Hauck; her great granddaughter--Chloe Rosemary Niles, and her two step greatgrandchildren—Jaden McDaniel and Juliana McDaniel. In lieu of flowers, consider donating to your favorite charity, helping someone in need, or simply stepping outside and appreciating nature. No service is planned at this time.