One of the brightest lights of faith in God in Decatur shines from the McMullan family, as they have had to “fight the good fight of faith” against attacks to their health. Both natives of Decatur, Doyle and Janie McMullan are known and loved by many in this area.
Doyle was born in Decatur January 16, 1942, to Charles “Bully” and Emma Mae Thompson McMullan. He was the oldest. Doyle’s oldest sister Charleece, is married to Richard Gipson and lives in Huntsville, Alabama. His brothers are Terry McMullan, married to Nelda Still, Kenny McMullan, married to Brenda Garvin, and his baby sister Bonnie Walker, married to John Walker. They all live here in the Decatur area. His father was a dairy farmer, and his mother, a housewife for years at first, later worked at the Newton Company.
Janie was born May 2, 1946, in Decatur to Cook Johnson and Mavis Giles Johnson. Her siblings were brothers—Amos Johnson, Harold Johnson, deceased, and Jerry Johnson. Janie was next to youngest. Janie’s mother was a housewife who also kept children, and her father worked at Hailey’s Hardware Store. He also travelled around to cotton gins and filed the cotton gin saws, before working for the county.
Though both Janie and Doyle went all the way through Decatur schools, they only knew each other when he was a senior, as she is four years younger than he. However, they did not begin dating until several years later, after Doyle graduated from college.
Doyle, voted Mr. Decatur High School, played football and basketball in school, enjoyed science, and was President of the Future Farmers of America at DHS. He also received the American Legion Award. Doyle, active in the 4-H Club, showed cows at Dixie National and the Newton Dairy Show. He graduated in 1960.
Janie, who enjoyed playing trombone in the Band, 4-H Club, and Home Economics, graduated from Decatur High School in 1964, before going on to East Central Junior College and earning her Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts with an emphasis in Science. She went on to study at the Mississippi State Branch in Meridian then to finish with her B.S. degree in Elementary Education from the University of Southern Mississippi, in 1969.
While she was in high school, Doyle had gone to East Central for two years, receiving his A.A. in Agriculture Education. He then finished, with his B.S. in Health and Physical Education, from Mississippi State University in 1966, earning his Master’s later. He began at Sebastopol, teaching 2 ½ years, then two years at Scott Central, before teaching at Scott Academy for seven years. He began teaching at Decatur in 1977, where he retired from Newton County High School in 2004. While he taught, also coaching football and basketball, she also taught elementary grades in the same school districts. Janie retired from Newton County Elementary School in 2008.
Thanksgiving 1965 Doyle and Janie had their first date, to the romantic Elvis movie, Blue Hawaii, which led them on to their marriage August 6, 1966. They agreed, “We’ve been blessed so many years!” They finally made it to Hawaii in 2011, and will have been married 53 years this August.
Baby boy Stephen came along January 17, 1970, and LeAnn was born December 6, 1973. Stephen graduated from Mississippi State in 1992, and now works as an Aerospace Engineer at Raytheon in Forest. He married Eileen Frank from Wisconsin. LeAnn works at Rush Hospital. She studied at East Central and Meridian Community College, then earned her B.S. from South Alabama University in Mobile, becoming a Nurse Practitioner. She is married to Dennis Sullivan, who works with the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
Stephen and Eileen’s children are Ethan, 20, Alana, 18, Alyssa, 15, and Aleah, 13. LeAnne and Dennis have Jonathan, 21, Andrew, 20, and Hannah, 17. Janie and Doyle told me they are so blessed that all seven grandkids live within two miles of them.
The McMullans were both raised in church, though their fathers were not active at the time. Doyle’s mother took all five children to church every Sunday. He said, “I joined the church when I was about twelve or thirteen. I think I did it because some of my friends did, and we went down the aisle together.” He concluded, “I gave my hand to the preacher but I didn’t give my heart to God.”
He continued, “I thought I was saved, but it bothered me. In 1977, during revival at Clarke-Venable Memorial Baptist Church, Bro. Steph Martin was the evangelist. I could feel God calling me. I knew I wasn’t saved. I was driving a school bus. I called and asked Bro. Merritt if I could talk to him. I went that afternoon and told him I wasn’t saved. We got down on our knees and he prayed, and we prayed. I had already been ordained as a deacon at Harperville Baptist Church before we moved back to Decatur in 1977, and had become a deacon also at Clarke-Venable. I was re-baptized and re-ordained as a deacon at Clarke-Venable.” He has continued as a deacon from 1978 until the present time.
Janie grew up in the Sand Springs Baptist Church, which did not have Vacation Bible School. She expressed gratitude for Mrs. Marion Thornton. “She picked me up for Bible School. Bible School has always meant so much to me. She took me to Clarke Venable Vacation Bible School and I was saved.” She was twelve at the time. Bringing up their children in the church in Decatur since 1977, they have both taught Sunday School, and other children’s classes.
April 29, 2016, Janie was diagnosed at Rush Hospital with AML, which is an acute leukemia. She says, “God went before me. If it hadn’t been for Dr. Stephen Anderson…” This young man was a resident in oncology at University of Mississippi Medical Center and was just at Rush for the weekend. He contacted the head of the Oncology Department at University, who told him what tests to run. She then went to University Hospital on Sunday. Janie says, because of the amount of infection she had in her blood, “By that time, I believe he saved my life. They caught it in time and began treatment.” She was in the hospital off and on for a year, receiving chemo treatments. Her immune system is still building back up, and chemo even made her gluten intolerant.
Doyle was in the hospital several times diagnosed with pneumonia until March 18, 2017, when he was diagnosed with cancer of the lung. They removed half of one lung at Rush, and his recovery was long and hard. Even with chemo, the cancer spread. He then went to M.D. Anderson in Houston September of 2017 for a treatment that he was told would not cure it but could control it. He returns there every three weeks. Thankfully, the tumors have not increased in size.
Janie declared, “We couldn’t have made it without prayers from everybody, people in Decatur, in many churches, from all over. Decatur people have always supported us and prayed for us. And family has meant so much to us.” The head of the oncology department at University Medical Center took her hands and told her, “I’m going to give you the treatment, but it’s in God’s hands.” She said, “That gave me peace. I had no doubt I was going to come home.” I asked Doyle what gave him the most peace, to which he replied, “Just knowing everyone was praying.” They agreed, “You can feel prayer!”
