SCARBOROUGH – James J. Mullen, 78, formerly of Hilltop Drive, Old Orchard Beach, died Sunday, Dec. 24, at the Maine Veterans’ Home, where he had been a resident for the past five years.

He was born in Biddeford, Jan. 31, 1928, a son of Joseph J. and Frances M. Campbell Mullen. He was a lifelong Old Orchard Beach resident. He was educated in Old Orchard Beach schools and graduated from Old Orchard Beach High School in 1945.

During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army in Japan. On June 30, 1951, he and his late wife, Joan Oliver, were married by his uncle, the Rev. James J. Mullen, pastor of St. Margaret’s Parish at the time, at St. Margaret’s Church in Old Orchard Beach. She died May 17, 1994.

He was employed by the U.S. Postal Service as a postal rural carrier in the Scarborough area for 40 years, until his retirement in 1992. During his employment with the Postal Service, he was recognized as a “Million Miles Safe Driving Employee of the Postal Service.”

He was a member of St. Margaret’s Parish, the Old Orchard Beach Alumni Association and a member of the U.S. Postal Carriers Union. He enjoyed collecting old post cards. At the time of his death, he had one of the finest collections of Old Orchard Beach post cards in the community. He also enjoyed sporting events, collecting antique door stops and playing duplicate bridge.

Survivors include two sons, James A. Mullen, and his wife, Cynthia, of Greenwood and Terrance J. Mullen of Old Orchard Beach; a daughter, Melanie J. Arnold, and her husband, Scott, of New Gloucester; two brothers, Robert Mullen of Turner Falls, Mass. and Paul Mullen of Indianapolis, Ind.; a sister, Mary Miller, and her husband, Richard, of Maplewood, N.J.; six grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.