Stanley Mullaney ... played banjo in local groups; at 82

DURHAM - Stanley Joseph Mullaney, attorney and musician, of Durham, died peacefully in his home on Sept. 18, 2023, with his children at his side. He was 82.

Born on Dec. 28, 1940, in Quincy, Mass., Stan graduated from Quincy High School in 1958. He joined the Army in 1960 and served with the 249th Ordnance Detachment, 6th Missile Battalion, 60th Artillery until 1963; he was stationed in Germany, where he learned to ski. He attended the University of Massachusetts and the University of Tennessee School of Law, and in 1970 joined the Dover, law firm of Calderwood and Ouelette, P.A. In 1975 he co-founded the Rochester firm of Mullaney and Richardson P.A., where he practiced until retiring in 2012.

He played the banjo for more than 60 years. At his death he was a member of the duo Blue Folk with Pat O'Brien and the trio East River with Dave Mercer and Dick Topping. He taught Scruggs-style bluegrass banjo at Ear Craft Music in Dover for several years. An avid woodworker and somewhat less enthusiastic carpenter, he built many musical instruments and pieces of period reproduction furniture, a new kitchen for his home, and three-quarters of an airplane. He was a licensed pilot.

He will be remembered for his inexorable wit, nurturing soul, and glue-stained polo shirts.

He is survived by his son, Peter Charles Mullaney of Atlanta, Ga., and daughter Stephanie Mullaney Carver of Cape Elizabeth, Maine (Joshua); grandchildren Charles Edward Carver and Bella Irene Carver of Cape Elizabeth, Maine; and numerous nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews. He was predeceased by his wife, Karen Whelan Mullaney; parents Charles Irving Mullaney Sr. and Irene Mathilda Mullaney (Ciardi); brothers Charles Jr., Raymond Sr., Richard Sr., Gerald Sr., and Kenneth Mullaney; sisters Irene Sayer and Eleanor Walsh; niece Elizabeth Whelan; and nephew Raymond Mullaney Jr.