COLUMBIA James Marvin “Bo” Mullis Jr., 72, died Wednesday, October 10, 2012.
A funeral service will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Monday, October 15, 2012, at Shandon United Methodist Church, followed by a graveside service in Greenlawn Memorial Park. Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M. Sunday, October 14, 2012, at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel,
Born February 24, 1940 in Lancaster, Bo was the son of James Marvin Mullis, Sr. and Jimmy Wilson Mullis. He graduated from Lancaster High School, the University of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina School of Law. He was a member of the Delta chapter of the Sigma Nu Fraternity where he most proudly helped plan and participated in “The Prank” where members of the fraternity posed as the Clemson football team prior to the Carolina-Clemson game of 1961.
Bo practiced law from1966 to present, first in Darlington, then as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Air Force and later in private practice in Columbia. He established the Mullis Law Firm in 1971 where he mentored many of the state’s leading legal advocates over the ensuing 40 years including his daughter, Pamela Mullis and State Senator Gerald Malloy.
He was an active member of the JOY Class of Shandon United Methodist Church, the Rotary Club of Five Points, the American Board of Trial Advocates, a founding member of the Palmetto Place Children’s Shelter and a former President of the Columbia Jaycees. Bo was a past President of both the Southern Trial Lawyers Association and the South Carolina Association for Justice. For many years, he represented South Carolina on the Board of the American Association of Justice, the national organization of plaintiffs’ trial attorneys. He also was the driving force behind the Auto Torts program which has long been considered one of the finest continuing legal education programs in the nation.
As a member of the United States Air Force as a Judge Advocate General officer during the Vietnam War, he tried more than one hundred courts-martial in a three year period at the Amarillo Air Force Base in Texas and at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. He then continued in the JAG Corps in the Air Force Reserve for 20 years. He also attained the rank of Brigadier General in the Joint Services Detachment of the South Carolina State Guard. He volunteered to write wills for troops deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan and worked vigorously to establish a civilian pilot emergency air wing for national disasters like Hurricane Katrina.
He was an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America and the head cheerleader for the University of South Carolina when he was a student there. He was selected for the Southern Trial Lawyers Association’s American Eagle Award in 2011. The organization also chose him for the Warhorse Award in 2013, which will be awarded posthumously.
He enjoyed spending time with his family at Lake Wateree, water and snow skiing, surfing, horseback riding and riding his collection of motorcycles. He was an instrument rated pilot who had flown thousands of hours across the country.
Surviving are his wife, Bonnie Brewer Mullis; sister, Sarah Ruth Mullis of Atlanta, Georgia; brother, Vann Stephen Mullis and wife, Susan Dodson Mullis of Chapin; brother, Charles Wilson Mullis and wife, Lennie Schlager Mullis of Irmo; son, James Marvin Mullis, III of Asheville, North Carolina; daughter, Pamela Riley Mullis and husband, Ronald Wade Anderson of Columbia; and daughter, Ashley Mullis Christensen and husband, Mikkel Ploek Christensen of Charlotte, North Carolina; grandchildren, Bazeel Bates Anderson, Jones Wade Anderson, Aiden James Mullis, Sebastian Ploek Christensen, Oliver Mullis Christensen, Isabella Riley Christensen; and former wife, Carole Jones Mullis.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Shandon United Methodist Church, Jeremie Eye Clinic, 3407 Devine Street, Columbia SC 29205, and the SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, P.O. Box 7187, Columbia SC 29202 or the Palmetto Place Children’s Shelter, P.O. Box 3395 Columbia SC 29230.
Source: James Mullis Obituary – Columbia, South Carolina – Dunbar Funerals and Cremations