Obituary of Gregory Mullins

Gregory Mullins, of Boulder Creek CA, 63, passed away unexpectedly on January 28, 2024. He was born in Oak Park, Illinois, and lived most of his childhood in Willow Springs, Illinois, with summers spent in Tennessee with extended family. Greg’s childhood was marked by a lively, sporting energy, and an uncanny ability to vanish and reappear unexpectedly, to his family’s astonishment. After graduating from St. Laurence High School, he went on to Knox College, in Galesburg, Il. At Knox, Greg joined Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity and played for the Hockey Club. His many friends knew him as fun, mischievous, and bright. In his second year, he met a freshman writing student, Ann Suchomski, who later became his much-beloved wife. Greg graduated in 1982 with a BS in Chemistry and a minor in computer science. After college, Greg pursued a varied career, as time went on, centering on software development. Ann and Greg moved in together, eventually marrying in 1989. They enjoyed the city lifestyle in Chicago as young adults, maintaining close ties to family and friends from their college days, and pursuing activities like Cubs baseball games, concerts, exploring all sorts of cuisine, bicycling, riding motorcycles, and camping in Wisconsin. Years of attending developers’ conferences in California drew Greg’s attention to the West Coast. Greg and Ann moved to California in 1992, to a cabin in Boulder Creek, in the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains, surrounded by redwoods. Though a major contrast to their urban lifestyle in Chicago, they took to it immediately. After a short time at Software Publishing Corporation, Greg got a fortunate opportunity, and landed a job at Apple Computer in 1994. At Apple, Greg worked as a software engineer, programming audio/video interfaces, connecting hardware and software. His work at Apple over the years was extensive and consuming. He collaborated on patents and travelled internationally to meet with partners. His keen mind and warm people skills enabled him to move from software development to management, eventually rising to the executive position of Senior Director of Video Applications, managing people and projects at two Apple locations. Greg and Ann welcomed their daughter Vanessa in 1998, and soon after bought a home closer to town in Boulder Creek. Their son Henry was born in 2001. The family thrived in the mountains, but also enjoyed the ocean in nearby Santa Cruz, and went skiing in the Sierras. They made visits back to Chicago or Tennessee and took trips to Kauai. The family went along with Greg on an epic trip to Japan, where he traveled frequently for work, developing a strong interest in Japanese culture and language. Greg joined a community softball team, and enjoyed watching his kids play soccer or perform in school musicals. The family enthusiastically explored all the latest Apple products at home, happily combining high tech with rural mountain living. In his early days at Apple, a coworker asked if Greg would like to come and crew on a racing sailboat in the San Francisco Bay. Greg readily agreed, and embarked on what would be a major interest for the rest of his life. He crewed on the 52-foot Zamazaan for years, until purchasing the boat upon the owner’s retirement from the sport in 2011. As Captain, Greg continued racing often, even completing the TransPac race to Hawaii with a crew of 12 in 2018. Family and friends enjoyed time on the boat for casual sailing as well. Greg’s last race was January 6, 2024. At 53, after 20 years at Apple, Greg felt like he had worked hard enough, and retired. For the last 10 years of his life, Greg continued to enjoy his children and support them in their endeavors, sail, and travel with his wife and family. He loved to host friends on his mountain property, exploring the natural environment, especially Big Basin State Park, just a few miles from home. One of his favorite places to be was Kauai, Hawaii. Greg made many friends wherever he went, charming them all with his warm spirit, sense of humor, generosity, and mischievous flair. After retirement, he carried a calling card which read, “Greg Mullins, Rapscallion Extraordinaire.” He truly did live life to the fullest, seeking to enjoy every moment. Greg looked for and found connection everywhere - connection to the landscape, to the everyday life of a place, and to people. Greg is survived by his loving wife of 34 years, Ann Suchomski, his children Vanessa Mullins and Henry Mullins, his mother Lou Townsend, sister Angela (Kevin) Albert, nephew Jack (Stephanee) Albert, niece Amanda (Aaron) Brost, and a host of extended family. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to the Big Basin Future Fund, to restore, after the 2020 CZU forest fire, the oldest state park in California, which is in Boulder Creek.