Listen to the Obituary
Larkin Earl Mullins, age 69, of Somerset, Kentucky, passed from this life on Friday, October 5, 2018 at his home.
He was born on October 20, 1948 in Covington, Kentucky, the son of Emma Mae Fisk Mullins and the late Ellis Earl Mullins.
Larkin served his country as a United States Marine from 1967-1971. He was a Vietnam Veteran, a Combat Helicopter Crew Chief in Laos and Vietnam, and was awarded forty-three air medals for over eight hundred and sixty combat missions. He loved being outdoors and never let the grass grow under his feet. Like his father, he was a jack of all trades and skilled at building, gardening, and creating a beautiful outdoor oasis for he and his family to enjoy.
He was preceded in death by his father.
He is survived by his wife of twenty-three years Millie Mullins; his mother Emma Mae Mullins; one daughter Shelley (and Billie) Meier; one son Chris (and Sherry) Mullins; one stepson Kevin Mitchell; two stepdaughters Kelly (and Johnny) Mitchell and Kasey (and Trevor) Pennington; two brothers John Paul Mullins and Rex Dean Mullins; seven grandchildren Cody Meier, Luke Campbell, Madison Meier, Lindsey Mullins, Brad Mullins, Maime Compton and Lennon Pennington and one great-grandchild Brent Christman.
Visitation will be at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 10, 2018 in the Chapel of Southern Oaks Funeral Home with funeral service time at 1:00 p.m. at the funeral home with Bro. Clyde Strunk officiating.
Interment will be in Mill Springs National Cemetery with full military honors provided by American Legion Post #38 Honor Guard.
Southern Oaks Funeral Home is entrusted with the arrangements for Larkin Earl Mullins.
My most sincere prayers go out to the Mullins Family. Larkin was a sweet person and helped me through the passing of my sister and mother. He will always be remembered and sorely missed by many, many friends. Rest in peace Larkin.
My condolences to the Mullins family of the passing of their loved one and my Marine buddy. Larkin and I flew many combat missions together in Vietnam. He was a very detacated patriot and one hell of a crew chief who’s “Kentucky Woman” helicopter was always ready for any mission. RIP Larkin and Semper Fi.
I am privileged to have the honor of being Larkins friend for over 64 years. I began to know him and his fantastic mother and brothers before the 1st grade by going to church with him. I didn’t have the honor of calling his dad a close friend but saw him occasionally over the years. I didn’t even know that he was a WWII veteran until a few years ago.
Spent many-a-Sunday afternoon trying to play basketball with him and his friends. I was never very good but he tolerated my lack of skills.
My childhood memories are shrouded in the fog of severe Narcolepsy, but a few are etched in my memory forever. The rest are refreshed by old photographs. One ever fresh is one of only two times I rode a motorcycle. Larkin had bought a used Triumph 500 Tiger, already modified into a mild chopper with “ape-hanger” handle bars. I had no idea of my medical condition “severe cataplexy” and believe me when I say he put that bike through the paces.
He was one of the gang: Larkin, Wayne Ginn, Debbie Pike, Ralph Glaser, Darlene Martin, Margie Warner, Judy Mershon.
We put in hay together for local farmers, mowed lawns, picked black berries and gathered walnuts every season.
When we graduated we lost track of each other, I moved to Ohio to work at G.E. and I found out decades later that he had joined the Marines. I was drafted and took another year for an Aviation PMOS and was trained as a fixed wing Aircrewman. I don’t have the rich service record that Larkin had, and I truly admire his dedication and tenacity to do his absolute best.
We reunited shortly after my ETS in early 1971. He and Sandy visited with us and we sat there bragging about our “new families” a my son was about 18 months at the time.
He still had time left and that was the last time I saw him for many years. I traveled extensively in my chosen career as a engineering designer. We found each other about15 years ago .
True friendship may demish over distance and absence, but the memories keep the friendship always in your heart and mind and that is where I will always keep Larkin alive, as long as we remember them they a eternally alive.
I truly feel your pain and wish not to create a scene and take away from this solemn moment in the lives of friends and family. I tear that if I were to see him again I will suffer a major “cataplexy seizure” and possibly collapse and hurt myself, so it’s best I hold onto the memories as they are when he was still with us.
He’s now reporting for duty in that Golden Hangar in the sky, where he will receive his Golden wings and be assigned to some young Marine out there in harms way as his Guardian Angle.
HAND SALUTE Sergeant Mullins, carry on….You will be sorely missed! You finally have the peace you so richly deserve.