DR. MARY TERESA CULLEN

Mary Teresa (Terry) Murphy Cullen, MD

Dr. Mary Teresa (Terry) Murphy Cullen died peacefully on January 18, 2023 at the age of 94 surrounded by her loving family after a brief illness. 

She was born the daughter of James and Agnes (Knebels) Murphy in Wilkes-Barre, PA on September 26, 1928, and grew up in the town of White Haven, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Misericordia College and, after working as a medical technician, she attended Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, which is now part of Drexel University in Philadelphia. Upon graduation she married Dr. Chester Cullen, moved to Hartford, CT, and became the first female intern at Hartford Hospital. She worked for the Hartford Health Department for 15 years before transitioning to become the Medical Director at Travelers Insurance Company. 

Terry had many talents, including playing piano and organ, sewing, cooking, painting, and drawing. She enjoyed traveling the world with her husband, and she raised two sons, both of whom followed in their parents’ footsteps to become physicians. She was active in the lives of her four grandchildren, and an unwavering supporter of their interests and pursuit of higher education. 

Active in her faith, she was a Professor of Bioethics at the Holy Apostles Seminary and a medical consultant to the Pope John Paul II Bioethics Institute. She also served on numerous boards and committees dedicated to supporting health and faith in her community.  She was a member of the Pastoral Council at St. Peter Claver Parish, where she also taught catechism. She served on the Board of Directors at Catholic Family Services and as the director of the AIDS Taskforce. She was a member of the Kennedy Institute of Bioethics and on the Board of Directors of The Greater Hartford Association for Retarded Citizens. She was also a member of the Holy Innocents Guild and the Board of Associates, the Gengras Center, and St. Joseph College. She was a director of the St. Francis Hospital Women' s Auxiliary, and she was a Consultant in Occupational Medicine at St. Francis Hospital. Through each of these endeavors, her focus was always to assist others and to make her communities stronger.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Chester Cullen, and her brothers, James and John Murphy. She is survived by her sons, Michael Cullen and Joseph (Lauri Nebel) Cullen, her grandchildren, Conor Cullen, Daniel Cullen, Marguerite (Joel) Weinert, and Mark Cullen, and her great-grandson, Theodore Cullen Weinert. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Patrick Church, 411 Allegheny St, White Haven, PA at 10:00 a.m. on March 18, 2023. Followed immediately by a Catholic Rite of Committal at St. Patrick Cemetery.  A visitation will be held at the church 1 hour prior to the Mass.

Her family extends their gratitude to her West Hartford, CT caregivers at The McAuley Assisted Living Community, New England Nightingales and St. Francis Hospital for their thoughtful care and extraordinary kindness.   

Arrangements under the care of the Lehman Family Funeral Service, White Haven.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Gengras Center, a special education center that furthers Terry’s mission of education and support for those in need (https://www.gengrascenter.org) 1678 Asylum Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117.

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