Thomas Norton Tate Mullen

Thomas Norton Tate "Tom" Mullen-a fiercely devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend, an uncompromising character and accomplished sailor, and a visionary developer of enduring communities from New Hampshire's Lakes Region through its White Mountains-has crossed the bar after a period of illness and a full life. He was 78. Tom saw himself as a helmsman and chose to live his way, especially when the rest of the fleet chased the wind in another direction. He seized every chance to connect with others and shaped the course of countless lives with the force of his big, buoyant personality.

The son of Norton and Helen Mullen, Tom grew up in Milton, Massachusetts and showed an early inclination to test boundaries. The Mullens summered on Cape Cod and took ski trips to the mountains of New Hampshire, making some of Tom's most vivid memories in both places. He also spent summers at Camp Belknap in Wolfeboro, NH and high school years at the New Hampton School, where he excelled at writing, football and further resisting conformity.

Tom followed his interest in journalism to Boston University and studied while earning his real estate license. Among his earliest entrepreneurial ventures he returned to New Hampshire on winter weekends to run the "Hustle Inn", whose patrons got a mattress in ski country for a few bucks a night, sheets not included. Tom finished his journalism training in the Army, enlisting during the Vietnam War, and was posted to Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. He wrote for the Army's "Passing Review" newsletter, hosted a radio report and learned to play the Martin guitar he won in a poker game.

During his service he went on a blind date with Barbara Kessler, an adventurous school teacher from Pennsylvania, who Tom wooed with tuna noodle casserole and a boat ride on the Potomac. He professed for the rest of his life that he knew Barbara was The One at first sight. Tom was honorably discharged in 1969 at the rank of Specialist E5. That year he and Barbara married in Rhode Island, and Tom sold property for Boise Cascade throughout New England.

New Hampshire kept its hold on him and within months of their wedding Tom convinced Barbara to move to the White Mountains, where he developed a community called Waterville Estates alongside the many and varied projects he built throughout the region. Those who worked with Tom during his more than half century career in real estate sales and development remember his unrivaled tenacity and grand vision. He was a relentless force behind CMB Construction, Winterbrook Realty, the regional Chamber of Commerce, the Mill at Loon Mountain and Papermill Theater, the Grouse Point Club, the Someplace(s) Different Inns, the Page Hill Association, Conway Business Park, the Owl's Nest Resort and Golf Club, numerous commercial plazas and hundreds of condominiums and custom homes.

In every project Tom was involved with, it was his intention to provide jobs, recreation, escape and economic opportunity wherever he saw potential. Above all, he worked to create places for people to realize their dreams and make memories, including the homes he built for his own family in Campton, NH. He and Barbara settled there permanently with their Saint Bernards, the four children they welcomed to their world, and a succession of formidable cats and loyal Labradors.

In 1982 Tom discovered a racoon-infested cottage on a half acre patch of Welch Island on Lake Winnipesaukee and it became the place that meant the most to him on this earth. He bought the property on the spot and sold Barbara on island living, if only for the summer months. They created "a refuge from all the nonsense" that he dubbed WaterMullen Land and longed for year-round. Tom loved watching his children learn to sail and play epic games of capture-the-flag with their inseparable island gang. He always made kids from any family feel at home, especially at the lake, and once his grandchildren arrived there, he relished the sight of them swimming, fishing and sailing.

Tom spared little time for hobbies of his own and spent nearly all of it racing sailboats. He always made his presence known on any course, from his home waters on Winnipesaukee to Nantucket Sound and the Caribbean. He was the son of a sailor and it was among his proudest achievements that he was instrumental in establishing the Lake Winnipesaukee Sailing Association's Youth Sailing Program and its home at the David Adams Memorial Sailing Center in Gilford. Tom welcomed anyone to race with him regardless of skill, in the hope that the experience would leave them "with joy in their hearts", no matter how tense the action. He treasured the friendships he made with fellow sailors, especially the famous Band of Angels, with whom he ruled infamous dockside joke-telling sessions at the annual Figawi Race.

Wherever the Mullens were, relatives, friends and strangers were always invited in whatever shape they arrived, for however long they wanted or needed to stay. Tom and Barbara hosted debaucherous ski weekends, half-serious poker nights, raucous St. Patrick's Day and New Year's Eve parties, epic sailing regattas and lobster bakes, Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas mornings with tables full of family and friends. At the center of it all, Tom was the wide-open, huge-hearted instigator who got the party started the moment he stepped off the boat, barged in the door, picked up a microphone or, inevitably, pulled out his guitar to sing from his soul. Anyone who joined in the good times left with a lighter heart.

Tom had a rare gift for connecting with people, a genuine interest in their lives, and a gentle way of making them feel important. He gave back wherever he could and when he saw a need he worked to fill it, usually before anyone else. When Tom wanted to accomplish something he drew from his experience and went in his own direction. If there was no path he cut a trail. He won his share of battles (among them helping defeat the Northern Pass) but always knew when to put conflict or cares behind him, crack a joke and break out the rum.

Ever the Irishman, Tom knew how to tell a good story, make a masterful toast, lead a lady on the dance floor, peel a cucumber efficiently, crack a lobster, find the tallest, best Christmas tree, structure a detailed presentation and run an auction. He loved to call his kids and close friends on long car rides, hold his grandchildren, request a back scratch and stroke a dog's head. He knew when to share his emotions, be there for his friends, and trim his sails or let them fill. To a fault he could be proud, gutsy, curious, stubborn, resilient, vulnerable, generous and loyal, not to mention unapologetically romantic and excessively sentimental.

At the end of each day he was content to pour himself a stiff drink, douse Barbara's healthy dinner with Nature's Seasons, then sit back and bask in the presence of his family, which was always foremost in his mind even if his attention was elsewhere. He took care of the people he loved as best he could in the course of his life, which ended too soon. Tom left an unfillable space at the head of the table but he will never be gone from the lives he touched. Og så svinger vi på seidelen igjen, skål!

Tom, a.k.a. G-Dad/Hubby is survived by his wife of fifty-two years, Barbara; daughter Kelly Wieser, her husband Paolo and their daughters Ella and Aura Liesl; son Ryan, his wife Heidi and their sons Tate and Asher; daughter Shannon; son Evan, his wife Jenny and their sons Rowen and Lennon; sister Jane Hildreth and family and sister Nancy Erskine.

If you would like to honor Tom's memory, his family asks that you make a donation to the World Central Kitchen ( www.wck.org ), which provides meals in humanitarian crises, or New Hampshire Lakes ( www.nhlakes.org ), which promotes clean water policies and inspires the public to care for the state's lakes.