In 1987, John Mullin was chief administrator at a large medical clinic when a doctor who worked closely with him suggested Mullin be tested for dyslexia. She had become suspicious after noticing that Mullin rarely responded to memos until verbally asked and then always asked what the memos said. She also noted his tendency to use varying word pronunciations.
Shortly thereafter Mullin, then 43, first learned he has extreme dyslexia.
“Out of 100 dyslexic people who read a paragraph, the doctor said only two would understand less than me,” he recalled.
Yet, Mullin by that time had graduated high school, college and graduate school and, before joining the clinic, had risen to become one of the youngest senior vice presidents in the nation at Wells Fargo Bank.
Throughout his higher education and career, few people knew of his reading disability outside of family. “I learned to hide it,” he said.
“The first time I was asked to read something out loud in class was first grade. I tried but couldn’t even read ‘A’. Students laughed.”
“That happened throughout elementary school. Every day I feared being asked to read in class or discuss a book and being humiliated,” Mullin said. “I became very shy and embarrassed.”
Unlike today, remedial classes he attended in the 1950s did not identify or address dyslexia.
His parents helped with one piece of advice that stuck with him.
“They repeatedly said, ‘John, you have an obstacle. Either go over it, under it or through it. Just don’t let it stop you. You find the answer how to do that,’” Mullin recalled.
Mullin sees words merged together in shapes like a silhouette or city skyline. Even when he identifies individual words, he has difficulty stringing together the factual content of sentences. The more time he spends, the more he can decipher themes and concepts, however.
“I can read a novel and understand the themes, but cannot tell you the characters’ names or what they did,” he explained.
As his parents suggested, Mullin figured out how to overcome his obstacle. “I read what I could to determine concepts and listened to classmates’ discussions for content. I would ask questions and pump factual information from other students. Later, I did the same with colleagues and staff at Wells Fargo.”
Mullin graduated high school in 1962 and college in 1966. His college major was chemistry, which entailed less reading and more watching.
He talked his way into graduate business school by persuading the dean to give him a chance at one semester to prove himself despite extremely low reading test scores. “We agreed and shook hands, but the dean didn’t think I could make it,” he said. “As my parents suggested, I never let my obstacle stop me.”
Mullin graduated in 1968.
He joined Wells Fargo that year as trainee and rose to senior vice president by 1980 at age 36. He succeeded by inspiring business clients with creative strategies developed from concepts. Eventually, Mullin led Wells Fargo’s national Corporate Middle Market Division.
He went on to manage a medical clinic and own a business in Connecticut before moving to San Diego in 2016.
Today, Mullin and his wife, Susan, are retired living in Rancho Bernardo. They have three adult children and six grandchildren.
After his diagnosis in 1987, a therapist counseled Mullin to turn on a switch every day. “Even now, every morning I wake up and turn a switch on. That switch tells me I am no longer shy and embarrassed,” he said.
Over the years, Mullin has helped others by one-on-one mentoring and supporting nonprofit organizations. “I know what it’s like to live with a disability — the shyness, the struggles and embarrassment — and I want to touch those lives.”
Dyslexia is incurable. Mullin, now 79, continues to cope. “At a restaurant with friends, when reading menus Susan will say tactfully, ‘John, they have your favorite so and so,’” he said with a chuckle.
Few people have known of his disability until this publication.
“I’m ready for it,” he said. “My switch is on.”
About this series
Jan Goldsmith is an Emeritus member of the U-T’s Community Advisory Board and a U-T contributing columnist. He is an attorney and former law partner, judge, state legislator, San Diego city attorney and Poway mayor.
Someone San Diego Should Know is a column written by members of the U-T’s Community Advisory Board about local people who are interesting and noteworthy because of their experiences, achievements, creativity or credentials.
The U-T welcomes reader suggestions of people who have done something extraordinary or otherwise educational, inspiring or interesting and who have not received much previous media. Please send suggestions to Jan Goldsmith at jgsandiego@yahoo.com
