PITTSTON — Jimmy Mulé not only left behind a printery shop, but also countless memories.

The Pittston resident passed away July 7 at the age of 59 after a lengthy battle with lung disease. He was laid to rest on July 12 at St. Mary’s Cemetery on Chapel Street in Pittston.

Former Pittston City Mayor Mike Lombardo was friends with Mulé for over 30 years and called him a “behind the scenes guy.”

“I would say Jimmy Mulé is one of those people that quietly made a difference,” said Lombardo. “There are a lot of people out front in helping the community because they’re in public positions, but every time you went to Jimmy he always stepped up and it was beyond doing his job.”

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Mulé graduated from Wyoming Area High School in 1975 and then King’s College with a degree in marketing and business management.

He was best known for his self-employment, having owned and operated JM Dollar Saver for over 10 years before converting it into Pittston Printery in the early 1990s.

Efforts to reach Pittston Printery employees in regards to what will happen with the business were unsuccessful at press time.

Lombardo said it was when Mulé had JM Dollar Saver that the two met.

“I actually first met Jimmy when the transition occurred between eight-tracks and cassettes and Jimmy Mule had J&M Dollar Saver,” he said. “You could find the most unusual things there and he was in the dollar store business before the Dollar Store and Dollar General. I went into the dollar store because he had a cassette conversion device, and then I knew him over the years.”

It was when he owned Pittston Printery that Mulé began helping with the Pittston revitalization, as Main Street Manager Rose Randazzo said he donated all of the printing material to them when they started Downtown Tomorrow in 1996.

Over the years, Mulé continued to be part of Greater Pittston designing banners for various events such as the Tomato Festival, the Second Friday Art Walk, the St. Patrick’s Parade and others.

Randazzo said Mulé’s big heart prevented him from getting a bigger wallet.

“Jimmy Mulé never sent Pittston a bill,” she said. “I never saw a bill from him and he printed almost every banner, donated so much artwork and graphic design work. He always was there to donate his time and help; he was just a great guy, and an unsung hero.”

Randazzo said Mulé also printed the art walk maps and she would continuously ask how much she owed him, to which he always responded, “Don’t worry about it.”

The biggest aspect of Mulé that Lombardo and Randazzo often mention was his sense of humor.

Lombardo said he would often times go to Pittston Printery to visit Mulé just to have a few good laughs. Mulé was also good friends with another late Pittston-based graphic designer, Kevin McGroarty.

“They were the (John) Lennon and (Paul) McCartney of comedy,” Lombardo said.

With the Pittston City Streetscape Project taking place on Main Street, Randazzo regrets that Mulé won’t see its completion, as he prepared his business for the new look.

“Last year, in preparation for the streetscape, he repainted his building just so it would look good when the knew sidewalks went in while he was waiting for a lung transplant,” she said. “The sad thing is he waited for the streetscape to happen in front of his building, and literally, it happened simultaneously with his death and he never got to see it. But, he never complained.”

Lombardo already feels a void in his life with Mulé gone, and he said the rest of the city will feel it too.

“Over the next couple of months there will be very few people that won’t feel the loss of Jimmy Mulé” he said. “I know in a few weeks when we have the Tomato Festival, we will all feel the loss of Jimmy.”

Mulé is survived by his wife of 31 years Denise (Dructor) Mulé, his brother Joseph Mulé and his wife, Katie, of Mountain Top; godparents and aunt and uncle, Francie and Jimmy Pisano, of Exeter; mother-in-law, Martha Remas Dructor; aunt, Bernice Remas, of West Pittston, goddaughter, Valerie Remas, of Wapwallopen; nieces, nephews, cousins and his pet Bichon, Bella.

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Greater Pittston officials remember late Pittston Printery owner

By Jimmy Fisher

jfisher@timesleader.com