Hugh Mulligan ’48 will always hold a special place in Marlboro’s history as the very first graduate, and over the years he and his wife Brigid have remained engaged and generous with the college. It is therefore particularly touching that they generously included Marlboro in their will. Hugh passed away in 2008 and Brigid followed him in 2012, leaving a magnanimous bequest of $175,900 from their estate to the college, recently cleared by probate court.
“May you use this money in good health, for the good of the college which both Hugh and Brigid loved, and in remembrance of two beautiful lives well lived,” wrote Kathleen Mulligan, a niece of the Mulligans and executrix of Brigid’s estate.
After graduating from Marlboro in a class of one, with a commencement procession including Dorothy Canfield Fisher and Robert Frost (pictured right, with Hugh seated to the left), Hugh had an illustrious career as a reporter for the Associated Press. His job sent him all around the world, including a stint in the Saigon bureau during the Vietnam War and interviews with Marilyn Monroe, Margaret Thatcher, the shah of Iran, John Glenn, Joe DiMaggio, John Steinback, and Pope John Paul II. Hugh married Brigid, his wife of 60 years, in her home parish in Armagh, Ireland.
“Hugh and Brigid must have led a very adventurous and active life together,” said Kevin Quigley, Marlboro president. “On behalf of the trustees, faculty, staff and students, we are very moved and honored to receive this extraordinarily generous bequest from Brigid’s estate. It will help us move the college forward in important ways so that we can remain engaged, relevant, and distinctive.”
