Senior Living Leader and Visionary, Tony Mullen, passed away on Saturday, March 10, 2018.

By Steve Moran

This morning, as I sat to do my daily meditation and journaling time, I did a quick check of my email before getting started. I saw an email forwarded from David Smith that was titled “Tony Mullen”. I opened it to discover Tony had passed away on Saturday (March 10, 2018). I was stunned.

In the early days of writing on the senior living sector, I would be, from time to time, asked if I knew Tony Mullen in almost reverent tones. The first time I was asked about Tony I had no idea who he was. Over time though he came to have an almost mythical godlike position in my mind.

Then . . . one day Tony reached out to me, telling me he liked what I was writing and wondering if I would be interested in speaking at his sales summit. I was thrilled.

Between then and now we became friends. He authored several articles for Senior Housing Forum and we had many phone conversations that I valued at the time and value more today.   

I know many of you will go “Tony who?” and that is okay because time goes on. But I promise you that — in one way or another — what you do today in your community is influenced by Tony and what he taught.

A Well-Lived Life

In my way of thinking, there is a single measure of a well-lived life. It is not wealth, fame, or fun. It is the amount of influence or impact an individual has on the lives of others. Tony was one of those amazing individuals who lived to improve the lives of others. He taught scores of senior living professionals how to be better salespeople, by caring for the people they were “selling”.  

In doing this, he improved the lives of those who he taught and influenced. In doing this, he made life for countless seniors and their families better.

I will miss him terribly.

You can read his obituary here. I also asked David Smith to reflect on his relationship with Tony. This is what he had to say:

Tribute to Tony Mullen

March 12, 2018

I first met Tony Mullen in the early 1990s at one of his first Annual Sales and Marketing Summits. My life was forever changed for the better. Over the years since, Tony became my friend, sales theory/practice sounding board, and my mentor. Tony had that impact on hundreds of industry professionals.  

Tony was a practically oriented, abstract thinker; a passionate innovator; a persuasive teacher; and a challenging teacher. His Advanced Sales and Marketing Summit became the premier forum to study, discuss, advance, and debate sales conversion theory and practices. When invited to present at the Summit, Tony always encouraged us to push ourselves to learn more, clarify, and dive deeper. He led the way in unselfishly sharing his beliefs, opinions, and research. I was proud to have taught in the Masters Programs that Tony created at Johns Hopkins University and later at the University of Maryland.

Devoted to family and his Jesuit faith, Tony was also a source of inspiration. We enjoyed many conversations about Old Testament stories together. He will be sorely missed.

Feel free to share your memories here.