Christine A. Mullen

Christine Anne Mullen, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, art educator and mentor, died at age 78 on February 10, 2025, in the presence of her family after a long battle with cancer. A generous, loving, and creative soul who always put others first and was an emotional rock for her family in good times and bad, she will be dearly missed. "Chrissy" to her three siblings growing up, she was born in Waltham, MA, on October 28, 1946, to Anne and Ernest Comeau and grew up in Weston, MA. Christine was a graduate of Newton College of the Sacred Heart, where she majored in Studio Art. As a freshman, her friend Judy Mullen (later Connorton) introduced Christine to Judys brother, James Joseph Mullen, at Newtons prom. They married on April 6, 1968. Fifty years later, they returned to the same Jamaica hotel where theyd honeymooned half a century earlier. Christine was always creating in various forms, drawing, quilting, sewing, embroidering, writing calligraphy, and her favorite, painting. Desks and tables in her home were usually covered in various works in progress, and her ever-present notepads contained the "doodles" she would draw when talking on the phone. Her home was also full of life: her four children, their many friends and neighbors, her nieces and nephews, and later her grandchildren. Her love of baking kept the house scented with banana bread and mocha cake and more, and she loved baking with her kids and grandkids. In a house with so many boys, she was a great sport about the many action movies she was taken to and action figures lying around the house, and the many games watched (on TV or at stadiums, or on the sidelines when her kids and grandkids were playing). A doting mother and grandmother, nothing seemed to bring her more joy than working on art projects with her grandchildren or watching them play sports or perform music. Before her first child was born, she taught elementary school art for a year and a half, first in Weston and then in Warwick after she and James moved to Barrington. She took time off work to raise her children but was active in the League of Women Voters and the Parent Teacher Associations of her childrens many schools. In 1973 she supported her husband in his successful campaign for Barrington Town Council, and she served on the Barrington Town Planning Board for 15 years. Once her youngest was in grade school, she returned to teaching, continuing what became a 28-year career. After brief stints in Taunton and Westport, she taught for 24 years in Bristol-Warren Regional Schools, where she made many friendships and taught thousands of students of various ages, passing on her love of art to multiple generations. She devoted hours to helping Mt. Hope High School students enter the Scholastic Art Awards competition, and she guided seniors who were preparing portfolios for art school. She was active in the Rhode Island Art Education Association (RIAEA), serving at every position, including president. In 2004 she became one of the first RI art teachers to receive National Board Certification, and in 2017 she was honored with an RIAEA Lifetime Achievement Award. Christine enjoyed mentoring other teachers, including student teachers from Rhode Island College and the Rhode Island School of Design. Several of her former students are now art teachers themselves. A faithful Catholic, she was for years an active member of St. Lukes parish in Barrington and then St. Marys in Bristol, and during her illness she took particular comfort in the writings of Pope Francis. She is survived by her husband, her children Kimberley (Paul) Montour, Thomas (Jennifer) Mullen, Daniel (LynneMarie) Mullen, and Geoffrey (Julia) Mullen, her six grandchildren, her siblings Phillip (Penelope) Comeau, Lorraine Doyle, and Arlene (Richard) Palmieri, and many cousins and friends. Visiting Hours will be held at Sansone Funeral Home, 192 Wood Street, Bristol on Thursday, February 27, 2025 from 4:00-7:00 PM. Her funeral service will start from Sansone Funeral Home on Friday, February 28, 2025 at 9:00 AM with a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Marys Church, 330 Wood Street, Bristol at 10:00 AM. She will be laid to rest at St. Marys Cemetery, Chestnut Street, Bristol. Services Visitation Thursday February 27, 2025 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM Sansone Funeral Home 192 Wood Street Bristol, RI 02809 Funeral services from Friday February 28, 2025 9:00 AM Sansone Funeral Home 192 Wood Street Bristol, RI 02809 Mass of Christian Burial Friday February 28, 2025 10:00 AM St. Mary's Church 330 Wood St. Bristol, RI Cemetery St. Mary's Cemetery Chestnut Street Bristol, RI