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William Mullett, 73, community activist
By BETSY BOLGER-PAULET, Times Staff Writer
DUNEDIN -- William Lake Mullett, 73, better known as "Bill" in Dunedin where he was active in the community for 43 years, died Wednesday (Nov. 20, 2002) at the Clearwater home of his son, Dr. Daniel B. Mullett. William Mullett, a respected nuclear engineer, died under the care of Hospice of the Florida Suncoast after a two-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. "Dad's attitude of service to others kept him active in church and civic affairs for as long as possible. That was his trademark: determination," Daniel Mullett said. William Mullett served Dunedin as a member of the Mayor's Advisory Committee, the Building Board of Adjustments and Appeals, Dunedin Health Facility, Dunedin Fine Arts and Dunedin Historical Society. A member of the Dunedin Rotary Club with nearly 25 years of perfect attendance, he served as the group's president. He was a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, and a Rotary scholarship was established in his name. He was scoutmaster for Troop 58 and a member of the BSA Executive Board. A 15-year member of Mease Health Care Board of Trustees, he also was a member of the Arbor Vitae Society and the Morton Plant Mease Building Committee, the Dunedin Country Club, Fairway Estates Association and Dunedin Sundowners. Mullett was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Dunedin where he served on several committees. He was born in Quitman, Miss. He attended Marion Military Institute in Birmingham, Ala., the oldest military junior college in the nation. He turned down an appointment to West Point to attend Georgia Institute of Technology. He served in the Army after graduating from Georgia Tech in 1951. After the war he married and moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked for Westinghouse Electric Corp. He assisted the Navy and Admiral Hyman Rickover in creating a nuclear-powered fleet and designed a propulsion system for the USS Enterprise. In 1959 he and his family came to Dunedin. He worked with General Nuclear Engineering Corp. and later joined the staff of Southern Nuclear Engineering, which became Apex Technologies. He was a trouble-shooter for several nuclear utilities. In 1985 he founded his own consulting firm, Mullett Engineering. He spent two years with MPR Associates in Washington, D.C., working on specialized engineering projects: a design for the tower crane technology used to erect the Sears Tower and on a gimbal steering system for nuclear submarines. "(He) worked with some of the finest minds of the time in the nuclear industry. These working relationships honed his talents as a premier problem-solver and eventually he became known in the engineering field as the Red Adair of the nuclear industry," Daniel Mullett said. Survivors include William Mullett's wife of 46 years, Joyce; a son, Daniel; and six grandchildren: Kyle and Trent Mullett, and Wes Thompson, all of Clearwater, and Kristyn, Will and Casey Mullett, all of Lexington, Ky. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Moss-Feaster Funeral Homes & Cremation Services Dunedin Chapel, 1320 Main St. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at First United Methodist Church on Main Street at Douglas Avenue, Dunedin. The family requests donations be made to the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast or First United Methodist Church of Dunedin.
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