Mulvihill Story - Tradition Magazine

Not long after Gerald (“Jerry”) Mulvihill graduated from Roger Bacon High School, with the Korean War going on, he enlisted in the Coast Guard. Feeling very sad after receiving a Dear John letter from his sweetheart, he wrote to his dad, Francis (“Bud”) Mulvihill, about how lonely he was. Mary Lee Fehrenbach used to ride the same trolley car to work as Jerry’s dad rode to his. They had become acquainted with one another on their trolley car rides. Mr. Mulvihill liked Mary Lee and asked if she would write to his son, who was deployed on a ship in the Coast Guard. Being kindhearted, Mary Lee agreed.

That is how Jerry and Mary Lee’s correspondence began. Their letters became more frequent until they were writing back and forth to one another almost daily. Through a year of letters, they fell in love.

While on shore leave in Japan, Jerry Mulvihill bought an engagement ring for Mary Lee. He sent the ring with a letter to his dad, asking him to go to her house and propose marriage on his behalf. So Mr. Mulvihill went to the Fehrenbach home and, in the presence of Mary Lee’s parents, proposed marriage for his son. Her parents gave their approval, and Mary Lee accepted Jerry’s proposal. They would wed on his next leave.

Jerry finally got home to Cincinnati a week before the wedding and met Mary Lee in person. He liked to tell the story of the first time he ever saw her. The plane landed, and the crew held back other passengers so that Jerry could disembark. As he was going down the steps to the tarmac, Mary Lee came out of the building to meet him, dressed in a pink seersucker suit with a pillbox hat, the prettiest sight he had ever seen, and they shared their first embrace.

Neither Jerry’s pastor nor Mary Lee’s would agree to marry them, believing the marriage would have little chance of lasting since they had never actually met face to face. So they were married on June 5, 1954, at a Catholic church that neither of them had ever attended before.

Their love continued to strengthen and grow. The marriage stood the test of time, lasting over 67 years before Jerry passed away on October 1, 2021. Mary Lee joined him on July 23, 2025. They had four children, plus one adopted, 12 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren - a wonderful legacy.