Perhaps it’s only wearing Chanel No. 5 or still driving with what her daughters call a “leadfoot,” or keeping her Golden Age of Hollywood updo with the help of Bellport’s premier Belle Shear Hair Salon that keeps Ina May Mulvey in youthful exuberance at the age of 102.
On Saturday, March 7, Mulvey’s longtime stylist, Susan Belcher, the owner of Belle Shear, organized a celebration of her 102nd birthday during her standing weekly appointment at the salon. Complete with balloons and a cake, Mulvey was beaming with pride that has been apparent and constant for her over a century of life.
Belcher spoke about one of her favorite client’s devotion to beauty, both aesthetically and physically in comportment with her signature style. “Ina May has been coming to me for years. Every Friday she comes in to get her hair set for the week and she has been fabulous to style,” said Belcher.
Mulvey has three daughters, four grandchildren, and eight great-grandchild, with one due in April. Her family mostly lives on Long Island, but some members are in California.
Born in Manhattan and raised in South Ozone Park, Queens (near the Belt Parkway, before the building of JFK International Airport), Mulvey moved to West Babylon at the age of 8 and graduated from West Babylon High School class of 1943.
One of Mulvey’s proudest moments was serving in the allied war effort after high school by collecting data from fighter pilots flying D-47s to input into gauges at Republic Aviation in Farmingdale. After the war, Mulvey stayed in to handle purchasing in Hangar One.
After being invited by mutual friends to local dance, Mulvey met the love of her life, James Mulvey, whom she married in 1952. James died in 2009 leaving Ina May a widow after 57 years of marriage. The contrast of Ina May’s German/Swedish ancestry and James’s Irish background is one that her daughters joke about, saying their mother claims the Nordic blood is what makes her drive so fast.
As a young woman, Ina May Mulvey was a keen athlete, excelling in horseback riding and swimming.
The Mulveys moved to Lindenhurst for 10 years and then settled in a home custom built for the family in 1965 in West Islip. Mulvey joined the Babylon Methodist Church at this time and has been a parishioner for over 60 years. The church is the main place Mulvey still drives to.
“She adored Gary Cooper,” said daughter Sharon, who accompanied Mulvey on her weekly salon appointment. “She’s a tough broad.”
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