Obituary of Ann Mulligan Lunney

Ann Mulligan Lunney, 91, of Red Bank, died January 6, 2016 at home. Mrs. Lunney was born in Freehold, the daughter of the late Michael and Margaret Dunn Mulligan, and the adored little sister of her brothers, John, Charles, and Francis. While a model for the John Robert Powers Agency, she met Don, a West Point graduate, in Times Square on VJ day; they were married a month later. They began their married life in Germany and later returned to live there at the close of Don’s career with Boeing. Ann was charismatic and could light up a room with her charm and her ability to make one feel that he or she was the most wonderful person in the universe. She brought these qualities — along with her love of bridge, charitable works, good company and a good story — to Seattle, where she lived for over 50 years, returning to NJ in 2007. Her homes, be they in Sternberg, Germany, Seattle, or Red Bank, were always filled with friends “just dropping by” for lively conversation and the opportunity to be the wonderful person Ann saw in them. And, if it were late in the day, he or she might be treated to a top-notch dry martini. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Donald R. Lunney, in 1993, and her beloved grandson Michael Robert Lunney, in 2012. She is survived by two sons, John Michael Lunney and his wife, Robin, of Phoenix, Arizona, and Robert Emmet Lunney and his wife, Jan, of New York City, New York; a daughter, Donna Thum and her husband Kurt, of Shrewsbury; three grandchildren, Annikken and Hans Kristian Vear of Oslo, Norway, and Will Maxwell-Lunney, of New York City, New York; and one great-grandson, Oliver Wesselsen-Vear, of Oslo, Norway. While she loved the Pacific Northwest, Freehold, NJ, was the center of her universe. Visitation will be held at the Higgins Memorial Home, 20 Center Street, Freehold on Sunday, January 10, 2016 from 2:00 to 6:00 P.M. A Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated on Monday at 10:30 A.M. at St. Rose of Lima Church, Freehold. Interment will be at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where her husband is buried.