Necrology
John Wilson McMullan '63
Dec. 4, 1940-Jan. 3, 2021
When his students earned an A, they could be certain that they had distinguished themselves.
For nearly 30 years, John Wilson McMullan ’63 challenged students in his Spanish courses at The Hotchkiss School to meet his rigorous expectations. His students remember him as an exacting taskmaster as he taught them the language and culture he first experienced as a youth. His family lived for some time in Santiago, Chile, where his father directed and taught theatre.
McMullan devoted his career to teaching in boarding schools, including Hotchkiss, in Lakeville, Conn., and Millbrook School, in Millbrook, N.Y.
He was born on Dec. 4, 1940, in New Haven, Conn., the son of Elizabeth Eckhard McMullan and Frank McMullan, who taught directing at the Yale School of Drama. He graduated from Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge, Conn., and matriculated at Hamilton, where he majored in Spanish. McMullan pledged Chi Psi fraternity, and for all four years at the College, he performed with the Charlatans, serving as director his senior year. He was president of the Alpha Psi Omega honor society.
“I owe my enjoyment in work to Hamilton and certainly my love of Spanish language and literature,” he wrote in his 50th reunion yearbook. His fondest College memories are of attending parties at Chi Psi; helping stage student-written plays for the Charlatans; studying for comps in a closet on the upper floor of Kirkland during a houseparty weekend; and last but not least, Dean Tolles exiting his office drenched because his cigar set off the sprinkler system.
Nor could McMullan forget his classes with Spanish Professor John Kronik. Without Kronik’s wonderful teaching and personal attention, McMullan wrote in a reunion yearbook, he wouldn’t be doing what he was doing.
“He taught me what it took to learn, change, and grow. I learned I have no talent for theater, that teachers are not gods, that growing up is a lifelong endeavor, that my interests are not in science, and that I have a talent with languages,” said McMullan, who earned a master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College.
At Hotchkiss, McMullan held the Marie S. Tinker Chair, and at the time of his retirement served as the wrestling coach. Earlier he’d coached field hockey and lacrosse. The school honored him with a plaque in its athletic center for all he’d done for Hotchkiss athletics. He’s also remembered on that campus as a fabulous dancer, according to a memorial tribute published by the school.
Besides teaching, McMullan was a textbook author. He served on the board of Recording for the Blind, and he worked in a leadership position for Educational Testing Service for the grading of Spanish Advanced Placement exams.
McMullan loved traveling, especially to Spain and Spanish-speaking countries. He also enjoyed fishing and ’60s doo-wop music. In Delaware, he was part of a weekly writing group and a men’s singing group. According to his obituary, some of his friends in Delaware had this to say about McMullan: “Our community is bereft of a man with dignity, humor, and intelligence in a time when we need more like him rather than less.”
McMullan, of Selbyville, Del., and Salisbury, Conn., died on Jan. 3, 2021, at age 80. Survivors include his wife, Barbara Gatski, four children, grandchildren, a brother, and several nephews.
