Mary Ducey ’74 and Joe Mulhern

Joe and Mary Mulhern recently transferred ownership of a life insurance policy to Dominican University, becoming members of the Mazzuchelli Heritage Society. When realized, it will benefit the general scholarship fund and help students from all walks of life attend college.

Mary and Joe grew up in the Chicago-land area and attended local high schools. Joe headed to Notre Dame for college and Mary commuted to the “concrete” Circle Campus (now the University of Illinois at Chicago) for financial reasons, but after one year, she began looking for greener pastures—literally. It took just one visit to Rosary’s River Forest campus for Mary to apply and transfer.

Mary remembers the stunning contrast between UIC and Rosary: aesthetically, in class size and in the quality of education. She talks about Rosary and the Dominican Sisters instilling a love of learning and how their passion for teaching was palpable. Mary has particular fondness for Sisters Clem Davlin, Mary Woods and Thomasine Cusack.

After college, Mary and Joe attended law school—DePaul and Northwestern, respectively. Mary pursued a career in civil law before her election to the Cook County Circuit Court where she served as a trial judge in the Daley Center. Joe’s career focused on real estate law.

They describe their decision to give the life insurance policy as an “. . .easy and low cost entrance into deferred giving.” For a relatively low cost, the ultimate payout—and impact—is significant.