Jean Elizabeth Mulvihill, 77, of Cannon Falls, Minnesota passed away on Friday, December 13, 2019, peacefully with her family at her side.
Jean was born on February 15, 1942, in St. Paul, Minnesota and was the daughter of the late Dr. Elmer Smisek and Elsie (Kasal) Smisek. She attended Visitation High School in Mendota Heights, Minnesota and St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Jean met Glenn Mulvihill at a church dance and they married November 19, 1960, at the Cathedral of St. Paul. Jean and Glenn started their life together in Mendota Heights, Minnesota from 1960-1972 and moved with their five children to the farm in Hampton, Minnesota in 1972. They had four more children.
Jean will be remembered by her family as a hard-working farm wife – taking care of the farm animals, canning food from their large garden, cooking and cleaning, doing endless loads of laundry, and, of course, caring for her nine children. As the kids grew, Jean got a job as a bus driver with Marshall Lines for the Farmington School District and later for Randolph School District until she retired in 2009. Jean loved to travel and her favorite destination, the Big Island in Hawaii. Jean’s hobbies included making ceramics and numerous homemade Christmas gifts for her children, knitting, decorating her home and landscaping.
Jean was preceded in death by her husband Glenn Mulvihill, partner Bobby Overby, sisters Joyce Smisek and Janet (Thomas) O’Connell and parents Dr. Elmer and Elsie Smisek. She is survived by her partner Duane Houk, her sisters Joan (Tom) Trudell and Judith Hable, her nine children; Tim (Sue) Mulvihill, Glenn (Carol) Mulvihill, Liz (Lourdes) Mulvihill, Chris (Steve) Werner, Jeanne (Jeff) Werner, Marie (John) Mulvihill, Joyce (Pete) Schaffer, Annie (Brian) Duscher, Josie Mulvihill, her thirty-three grandchildren, and seventeen great-grandchildren.
A celebration of life will be held on Friday, December 20, 2019, at Glenhaven Events 1595 220th St. E., Farmington, MN 55024 from 4 pm – 8 pm. Interment will be in St. Mathias Cemetery in Hampton, Minnesota. www.oconnellfuneralhomes.com
