Neilan Francis Mulhern, 91, died peacefully on July 24, 2022 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama surrounded by his family who loved him dearly.

Born on January 18, 1931 in Mazomanie, Wisconsin to Arthur and Esther (Wolf) Mulhern, he was raised on the family farm in Wisconsin as the 9th of 11 children. He was accustomed to hard work, taught by his Irish father and German mother, and his work ethic carried him through life.

Neal joined the Air Force as a teenager and served in the Korean War and had duty stations in Puerto Rico, Morocco, Italy, and Japan. He retired after 23 years of dedicated service to our country. During his time in the military, he met Doris LaGrone. They wed on January 31, 1954 and were married for 18 years. Together, they had 7 children, 11 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren.

Following his military career, Neal managed condominium complexes for several decades on the beaches of Ft Walton Beach and Destin, Florida. Ironically, Neal did not like the beach. It was during this time that Neal met Zola (Waddoups) Olsen. They were married on November 4, 1976. Neal loved and shared in nurturing Zola's four children and, as time went on, the addition of 14 grandchildren, and 25 great grandchildren as his very own. To his combined families, Neal is affectionately known and adored by a total of 25 grandchildren and 33 great grandchildren as "Papa Neal."

After Neal's retirement on the gulf coast, he and Zola moved to Lindon, Utah to be near their Utah family. Neal enjoyed volunteering during his free time as a neighborhood disaster/recovery leader, ward genealogy specialist, and leader of a local Boy Scout troop. He enjoyed caring for his neighbors and could be found blowing snow off of the driveways of neighbors on early winter mornings before anyone else came outside. Neal was also known for making the best homemade (from scratch) fudge every Christmas and it was highly anticipated by all his friends, neighbors, and service providers.

Neal and Zola were married just shy of 40 years when Zola passed away in 2015. He then returned to Alabama and spent his last seven years visiting with children and grands. He loved time spent with family more than anything else. Always the jokester, the funniest of all was watching him laugh till he cried trying to tell a joke. Often, he could not stop laughing long enough to finish the joke!

Neal is survived by the mother of his seven children, Doris (LaGrone) Mulhern Kispert; their sons Greg (DeBray), Paul (Jennie), Reggie, Lenny (Margarita), Michael (Mary Jane), and their daughter Marisa (Ron) Smith; 11 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren. He is also survived by his stepchildren with Zola which include Randy (Margaret) Olsen, Vicki (John) Ridgway, Cyndi Krebs, and Michael (Angie) Olsen as well as 13 grandchildren and 24 great grandchildren; his baby sister Dody Dulaney and brother Terry (Jayne) Mulhern, and sister-in-law Gladys Mulhern. He is also survived by more nieces, nephews, cousins and friends than we can count. He never met a stranger. Anyone who would sit and listen to his in-depth stories was his friend.

Neal is preceded in death by his devoted wife Zola, his son Neal David Mulhern, granddaughter Rachel Kile, grandson Christopher Olsen, great grandson Brayden Olsen, parents Arthur and Esther Mulhern, brothers Tom, Bill, John and Jim; sisters Arline Young, Virginia Littel, Kathleen Ganzlin, and Frances Mulhern.

Neal requested his body to be cremated and his ashes will be placed next to Zola in the Orem City Cemetery in Orem, Utah and a few spread throughout his homeland in Ireland.

A celebration of life will be held in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on August 13, 2022.

A memorial service will then be held at Walker-Sanderson Funeral Home on August 20, 2022 with visitation at 10:30AM and a service at 11AM immediately followed by full military honors at Orem City Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, our family knows it would please Neal if a donation were made in his memory to macular degeneration research. One organization is the Bright Focus Foundation at www.BrightFocus.org