Carla L. Cullen

Carla L. Cullen (nee Luna), 59, of Cedarburg found peace on Sunday, July 13, 2025.

She was born on April 27, 1966, to the late Mario and Dulcie (nee Off) in Santa Monica, CA. Her family moved to Victoria, British Columbia when she was 4. Carla and her brother John were raised in an artistic, creative household that nurtured their sense of adventure. Carla received her Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Victoria in 1987. She earned her Master’s degree in Archeology from UCLA in 1990 where she met her future husband Mike. Mike and Carla married in 1994 at Dolores Mission Church in Los Angeles. In 1997, Carla and Mike were blessed with their daughter Tasmine. Carla was employed at the Getty Research Institute until her family moved to Cedarburg, Wisconsin in 1998. In 2000 James was born and Carla devoted her time to nurturing her family while writing in her free time. As her children grew, Carla continued to write and began working at Penzeys Spices (becoming a self-proclaimed ‘Spice Girl’) in downtown Cedarburg. Since 2021, Carla has published seven novels and was actively working on her eighth.

Carla brought an intense passion to everything she did. Carla leaves behind a 45 year collection of personal journals, documenting every detail of her life and end-of-the-year summaries of her accomplishments and future goals. She was a successful author who loved giving back to her writing community. She was active in writing groups in British Columbia, Los Angeles, Wisconsin, Illinois, and virtual communities. Carla wrote everything from short stories to novels. A fearless world traveler, Carla worked on archaeological digs in Egypt, Tunisia, Spain, Israel, Jordan, and Turkey. When she began to publish novels, she revisited many of these countries as inspiration for her writing. A self proclaimed ‘geek’, Carla was happy to talk about 80s movies and music, science fiction, fantasy, musicals, and obscure pop culture to anyone in earshot.

Carla was a devoted wife, loving mother and loyal friend. She was outspoken in her support for her husband in his teaching career. She was patient and understanding of the time and attention that he directed to his work. Carla excitedly immersed herself into the lives of her children. Headhunter tag, elaborate birthday parties, WWE wrestling, Legos, Barbies, and dress-up were some of the ways Carla shared her playfulness with her children. Both Taz and James cherish the personal birthday cards she drew for them. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her.

Those Carla leaves behind to cherish her memory include her loving husband of 31 years, Michael Cullen; two children, Tasmine Cullen and James Cullen; a brother, John (Julie) Luna; two brothers-in-law, Ronald (Margaret) Cullen and Robert (Christine) Cullen; nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents.

VISITATION: The family will greet relatives and friends on Friday, July 25, 2025, from 12:00 p.m. until 1:45 p.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 1619 Washington St., Grafton.

SERVICE: A Memorial Mass in remembrance will be at the church on Friday at 2:00 p.m., with burial to follow.

In lieu of flowers, memorials in Carla’s name to Cedarburg Friends of the Library are appreciated by the family.

Online condolences may be shared at www.muellerfuneralhome.com.