John F. McMullan was born in Covington, Georgia, and raised in Athens, Georgia. He attended the University of Georgia and received a BBA in 1958 and an MBA in 1960. Marilyn Memory was raised in Waycross, Georgia, the eldest of three children. Marilyn attended the University of Georgia where she was a Phi Mu and met John McMullan in 1958. They were married on September 12, 1959.
John McMullan is CEO of the Atlanta-based investment firm, Camden Real Estate, a company he founded in 1990 and which he operates in tandem with his son, UGA Terry College of Business Alumni Board member Ted McMullan, Class of 2000, who is president and chairman of Camden’s operating company, Covington Investments. John also serves as a director of Life Care Centers of America Inc., which operates more than 288 skilled nursing, assisted living, and retirement centers in 28 states, and has been affiliated with Life Care since its inception in 1976.
Marilyn has many interests including Lullwater Garden Club, tennis, piano, as well as fine dining and entertaining. An accomplished pianist, Marilyn can play by ear. She is known for her green thumb and has had spectacular success with many different species of beautiful roses. For years, Marilyn and John were active in La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs and enjoyed many spectacular meals that they attended in Atlanta and around the world. They both love to travel and entertain, and Marilyn’s biggest passion has always been her family and making memories together at holiday meals, UGA football gatherings, birthday parties, and family vacations.
John has served the University of Georgia as a trustee of both the UGA Foundation and the Arch Foundation. A member of Sigma Chi during his days as a student, John was instrumental in rebuilding the current fraternity house on the UGA campus. He was awarded the Significant Sig Award in June 2018. John and Marilyn are avid Georgia Bulldog football fans and attend as many games as possible. In keeping with his love for college football, John established the McMullan Football Scholarship to benefit athletics. He is also the past president of the Touchdown Club of Atlanta. John was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Terry College of Business in 2009, and in 2010 he was honored as the UGA Alumni Association Alumni Merit Award recipient. In 2005, John and Marilyn created the McMullan Family Fund for Excellence in Education which was later designated to benefit the Terry Business Learning Community. Also in 2005, John and Marilyn established the McMullan Academic Support Fund to benefit the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences in memory of John’s sister, Jane McMullan.
The McMullans have four children: Jane Memory McMullan (born in 1960); Thomas Leverette McMullan (born 1961); Anne Frances McMullan (born 1963); and John Edward McMullan (born 1969). They have four grandchildren, twins Madeline and William, Jack, and Buckley McMullan.
John and Marilyn McMullan established the Marilyn Memory McMullan Fund at the Georgia Historical Society in 2017 to support an endowed position, the Marilyn Memory McMullan Director of Programs. The position honors Mrs. Marilyn McMullan and ensures the sustainability of high-quality, scholarly-based educational programming at GHS.