John Thomas Mullen, DDS passed away peacefully at home early in the morning on August 11th, 2023.

A visitation will be held from 4:00 to 7:00 PM on Monday, August 14th at Leonard Funeral Home & Crematory, 2595 Rockdale Road where a wake service will be at 4:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at St. Joseph’s Key West Church on Tuesday, August 15th at 10:30 AM with Msgr. Thomas Toale Officiating. Burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery with Military Honors by the Iowa Army National Guard.

John was born on February 8th, 1947, to Francis and Maxine Mullen. He was the youngest of six. He attended St. Patrick’s elementary school and high school where he was reasonably formed by the nuns and priests who attempted to teach him. John loved playing basketball and was fairly good at it. There is a scrapbook full of his newspaper clippings to back up this claim.

In 1965 he hitchhiked across the state of Iowa to attend Loras College. While at Loras (all men) he met Marianne Olech who attended Clarke College (all women). They married on July 18th, 1970. John left Loras in 1968 to attend Dental school at the University of Iowa. He received his degree in dentistry in 1972. After dental school he enlisted in the military and served in the Army 101st Airborne Division – 136th Med Battalion in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Despite being in the field and looking the part, he never jumped out of an airplane.

John and Marianne returned to Dubuque in 1974 where he joined Dubuque Dental Associates with partners John Steger and Heyo Tjarks. He practiced dentistry for 32 years in Dubuque, and he absolutely loved his patients. Many of his patients called him “Doc,” some called him “Painless,” and some asked when he was going to stop practicing dentistry and actually start performing.

In his free time, he loved to play golf. As much as he used to play, many of us could never figure out why he was not better than he was. As he got older, he enjoyed older people things like reading and bird watching. He especially cherished time with his grandchildren whom he loved dearly.

John is survived by his wife Marianne; children Kevin (Trisha) Mullen and Mary Catherine Mullen; grandchildren Madelyn, Joseph, Lucas, and Marcus Mullen; his brother Jim and sister-in-law Bonnie; his sisters-in-law Dianne (Paul) Olech-Price and Julianne (David) Olech-Patterson; and many nieces and nephews.

John was preceded in death by his parents Francis and Maxine; sisters Charlemagne, Mary Ann, and Sherry; his brother Edward; and father and mother-in-law Stanley and Loretta Olech.

The Mullen family would like to thank Hospice of Dubuque, Mercy Hospital, Dr. John Whalen, Dr. Jared Freiburger, and Dr. Eric Engleman for extraordinary care and compassion.