Shirley Strohm Mullins
- Published: August 28, 2025
Shirley Ann Strohm Mullins took her last breath on Aug. 7, 2025, at 90 years young. She was surrounded by family, friends and a lot of joyful music and laughter during her last few days here on earth.
She was loved and will be greatly missed by her children, Amy, Arthur, Wendy and Michael, her many grandchildren, extended family, dear friends, and an entire village of music lovers and students over the past six decades.
To write about her achievements in music and music education would be impossible, but to say she affected thousands upon thousands of students would be an understatement. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Springfield Symphony Orchestra shortly after her 90th birthday for her dedication to her students and to music education. She was an amazing conductor and cellist. She loved to make music with friends and colleagues all throughout her life. For decades, she played weekly with a piano trio she formed with the late Ava English and Mary Schumacher, which they named the English Trio. Music was more than just a profession; it was a passion. One of the last times she played the piano she said, “Music is therapy for me!”
Her life story began on May 13, 1935, when she was born the youngest of 10 to Frank and Agnes Strohm in Clinton, Iowa. She would always describe her modest upbringing as not having a lot, but having everything she needed. Her mother encouraged her to play music, often as a way to keep her busy, as the story goes, but it obviously stuck.
Shirley graduated from the University of Iowa with her bachelor’s in music education in 1957, and she received her master’s in music performance in 1958. While at the University of Iowa, Shirley met her husband, Bill Mullins. They were married just six weeks after their first date, and they celebrated 60 years together before Bill passed in 2018. When Bill asked for her hand in marriage, Shirley’s mother told him that he needed to understand that music was her first love. He seemed to be happy to play “second fiddle.”
After a few years of teaching in Minnesota, Bill and Shirley moved to Yellow Springs, where Bill had accepted a job teaching at the Antioch School. Upon discovering that Yellow Springs did not have a youth orchestra or string program, Shirley co-founded the Yellow Springs Youth Orchestra Association in 1964, and began building a string program from scratch. Shirley also volunteered at the high school, teaching strings, and before long, she was hired to build the Yellow Springs High School Orchestra program. She continued to build the music program over the next many decades, achieving what some would say is impossible, making orchestra a “cool class” to take in high school! She welcomed everyone, especially those who were not necessarily musically inclined. It wasn’t about being the best orchestra; it was about experiencing music as a community. Although she retired from directing the high school orchestra program in 2000, she never stopped teaching, and was still conducting the Yellow Springs Strings adult orchestra, playing cello and giving piano lessons up to the last months of her life. She continued to grow and contribute to the music program throughout her entire life and has left a remarkable and unforgettable legacy.
In addition to building the youth orchestra program, Shirley loved to play her cello, and she continued to study and perform. She was thrilled to be accepted as a student of the world-renowned cellist János Starker, and she commuted to Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, every month for private lessons. She would continue studying and attending master classes with Starker for many years, and she was very proud of being his student.
But Shirley wasn’t just a musician and a music teacher. She was a wife, a mother, a writer, a world traveler, a tennis player, a slot-machine gambler and a lover of hot fudge sundaes, thunderstorms and poetry.
Shirley was a writer. A beautiful writer. When she wrote her first book, “Teaching Music: The Human Experience,” she was told by an editor that it would never sell. So she published it herself. And when she sold her one thousandth copy, she sent one to that editor with one of her famous smiley face drawings. She wrote another book of short stories titled “Faces of America,” and many articles for newspapers and magazines. She was even working on writing down stories about teaching music to children in her last few months of life.
Shirley was also a lover of tennis. Tennis is how she met her husband, Bill Mullins. It was a blind date on a tennis court. Tennis was always a sport she loved to play and watch, but it wasn’t until later in life that she started back with lessons and competing. She went to the senior Olympics multiple times and won many medals, hanging them on display with pride.
And we could not talk about Shirley without talking about her love for Brazil. She first traveled to Brazil in 1993 on a music exchange program. She instantly fell in love with the people, the culture and the music. After her first visit, she realized she wanted — no, needed — to return every year. Brazil was her second home. She practiced her Portuguese, saved up money, and eventually purchased a little yellow house next door to her friends so she could come and visit whenever she wanted. She loved Brazil so much that she shared it with her kids and husband, with unforgettable memories visiting all of her favorite places.
Shirley Mullins was the Music Lady of Yellow Springs and will forever be remembered for her dedication to teaching students, her love of music, her commitment to education, and her leadership in the community. She was very generous with her time, energy and love of music. But we also hope she will be remembered for her love of her family, ice cream, baseball, casinos, bird watching, flowers, full moons, all things Brazilian and teddy bears and for her radiant smile, to name just a few.
We will be planning a celebration concert, Shirley’s Grand Finale, to honor her in the spring of 2026. Instead of flowers, please donate to the Shirley Mullins Endowment fund (YSCF.org). She would want nothing more than to continue to provide music lessons for children for generations to come.
Our hearts are heavy, but we know she will be lifting us up by playing beautiful music in our souls forever.
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