--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My father, Cecil Banks Mullis, and…" description: "\"My father, Cecil Banks Mullis, and mother, formerly Bernice Alberta Barker, grew up in rural North Carolina in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountain..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/kary-mullis-13943_banks_my-father-cecil-banks-mullis-and-mother_118580.jpg" --- # My father, Cecil Banks Mullis, and mother, formerly… ![“My father, Cecil Banks Mullis, and mother, formerly Bernice Alberta Barker, grew up in rural North Carolina in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. My dad's family had a general store, which I never saw. My grandparents on his side had already died before I started noticing things.” quote by Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/kary-mullis-13943_banks_my-father-cecil-banks-mullis-and-mother_118580.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/kary-mullis-13943_banks_my-father-cecil-banks-mullis-and-mother_118580.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/kary-mullis-13943_banks_my-father-cecil-banks-mullis-and-mother_118580.jpg) > “My father, Cecil Banks Mullis, and mother, formerly Bernice Alberta Barker, grew up in rural North Carolina in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. My dad's family had a general store, which I never saw. My grandparents on his side had already died before I started noticing things.” [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker recounts family origins in rural North Carolina, noting a lost general store and early deaths of grandparents. **In simple terms:** Family roots in a rural Appalachian setting. Key Takeaway Origins shape personal narrative. Themes family history rural life heritage Mood nostalgic reflective Type personal historical When to use this quote - genealogy research - cultural storytelling - writing memoirs Key Concepts generational memory Practical Applications - document family stories - preserve photographs Questions to Reflect On - How does knowing your ancestors' hardships affect your choices? - What value do you find in preserving small‑scale histories? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banks/) [Banks Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banks-mullis-1389050/) [Before](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/before/) [Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue/) [Carolina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carolina/) [Dad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dad/) [Died](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/died/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [General](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general/) [Grandparents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandparents/) [Grandparents Died](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandparents-died-1196927/) [Grew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [His](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/his/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mountains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountains/) [Mullis Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mullis-mother-1389049/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/north/) [North carolina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/north-carolina/) [Noticing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noticing/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Rural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rural/) [Saw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saw/) [Saw Grandparents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saw-grandparents-1389051/) [Side](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/side/) [Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started/) [Store](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/store/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) [Which](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/which/) ## Related quotes > [If, for example, I saw my grandparents or my daughter for an instant, would I recognize them? Probably not, because in looking so hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/if-for-example-i-saw-my-grandparents-or-my-daughter-for-an-instant/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Two of my grandparents died in a car crash. Sucks, 'cause they would have lived to a hundred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-rock/two-of-my-grandparents-died-in-a-car-crash-sucks-cause-they-would/) [Kid Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-rock/) > [My grandparents died two months apart, like, marriage forever, all my aunts and uncles, all my brothers are married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-marcille/my-grandparents-died-two-months-apart-like-marriage-forever-all-my/) [Eva Marcille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-marcille/) > [Most of my grandparents died when I was really young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/most-of-my-grandparents-died-when-i-was-really-young/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [My grandparents had died in 1983, and suddenly my brother is out jogging before Mass, and he dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-thomas/my-grandparents-had-died-in-1983-and-suddenly-my-brother-is-out/) [Clarence Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-thomas/) > [Both of my grandparents died of lung cancer. So I got quite a lesson in the payback later in life of smoking, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/both-of-my-grandparents-died-of-lung-cancer-so-i-got-quite-a-lesson/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [Mum and Dad died of heart problems, my grandparents died of it, my sister has had mini strokes, my brother has had a heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-o-grady/mum-and-dad-died-of-heart-problems-my-grandparents-died-of-it-my/) [Paul O'Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-o-grady/) > [In the 1950s in Columbia, South Carolina, it was considered OK for kids to play with weird things. We could go to the hardware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/in-the-1950s-in-columbia-south-carolina-it-was-considered-ok-for-kids/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [This is the secret of propaganda: To totally saturate the person, whom the propaganda wants to lay hold of, with the ideas of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watzlawick/this-is-the-secret-of-propaganda-to-totally-saturate-the-person-whom/) [Paul Watzlawick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watzlawick/) > [I remember noticing, when I had my babies, how much I liked them, and not just loved them, but I was really into them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tilda-swinton/i-remember-noticing-when-i-had-my-babies-how-much-i-liked-them-and/) [Tilda Swinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tilda-swinton/) > [Everyone is skeptical. Only the media are not skeptical, but, then, they were also not skeptical when the administration put out the line that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/everyone-is-skeptical-only-the-media-are-not-skeptical-but-then-they/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [You could drive past it without noticing and from what I understand, you ought to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-could-drive-past-it-without-noticing-and-from-what-i-understand/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [When every day seems the same, it is because we have stopped noticing the good things that appear in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-every-day-seems-the-same-it-is-because-we-have-stopped-noticing/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I'm getting less good at faking it. People in my family are noticing and asking what's wrong. My friends give me invitations to talk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-manning/i-m-getting-less-good-at-faking-it-people-in-my-family-are-noticing/) [Martha Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-manning/) > [It is worth noticing that those who assume an imposing demeanor and seek to pass themselves off for something beyond what they are, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/it-is-worth-noticing-that-those-who-assume-an-imposing-demeanor-and/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) ## More by Kary Mullis > [People don't realize that molecules themselves are somewhat hypothetical, and that their interactions are more so, and that the biological reactions are even more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/people-don-t-realize-that-molecules-themselves-are-somewhat/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [My mother often mailed me articles from 'Reader's Digest' about advances in DNA chemistry. No matter how I tried to explain it to her,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/my-mother-often-mailed-me-articles-from-reader-s-digest-about/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Religion is inwardly focused and driven only to sustain itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/religion-is-inwardly-focused-and-driven-only-to-sustain-itself/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Natural DNA is a tractless coil, like an unwound and tangled audiotape on the floor of the car in the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/natural-dna-is-a-tractless-coil-like-an-unwound-and-tangled-audiotape/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Do we care about these people that are HIV-positive whose lives have been ruined? Those are the people I'm the most concerned about. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/do-we-care-about-these-people-that-are-hiv-positive-whose-lives-have/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [I love a microphone and a big crowd; I'm an entertainer, I guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/i-love-a-microphone-and-a-big-crowd-i-m-an-entertainer-i-guess/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Science consistently produces a new crop of miraculous truths and dazzling devices every year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/science-consistently-produces-a-new-crop-of-miraculous-truths-and/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Here's a bunch of people practising a new set of behavioural norms. Apparently it didn't work because a lot of them got sick. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/here-s-a-bunch-of-people-practising-a-new-set-of-behavioural-norms/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [People realize this man knows what the hell's going on and nobody else does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/people-realize-this-man-knows-what-the-hell-s-going-on-and-nobody/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Science, like nothing else among the institutions of mankind, grows like a weed every year. Art is subject to arbitrary fashion, religion is inwardly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/science-like-nothing-else-among-the-institutions-of-mankind-grows/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [I'm not politically correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/i-m-not-politically-correct/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Fish don't know much about water, and people didn't know much about air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/fish-don-t-know-much-about-water-and-people-didn-t-know-much-about-air/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [My mother would give my brothers and me a pile of catalogues and let us pick what we wanted for Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/my-mother-would-give-my-brothers-and-me-a-pile-of-catalogues-and-let/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [They can't pooh-pooh me now, because of who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/they-can-t-pooh-pooh-me-now-because-of-who-i-am/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Sometimes a good idea comes to you when you are not looking for it. Through an improbable combination of coincidence, naivete and lucky mistakes ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/sometimes-a-good-idea-comes-to-you-when-you-are-not-looking-for-it/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) [Explore all 48 Kary Mullis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) ## More Banks quotes > [What we prefer to do is operate our investment bank in a way that is like what investment banks used to be, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-stephens/what-we-prefer-to-do-is-operate-our-investment-bank-in-a-way-that-is/) [Warren Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-stephens/) > [We now have power under the Dodd-Frank legislation to break up banks. And I've said I will use that power if they pose a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-now-have-power-under-the-dodd-frank-legislation-to-break-up-banks/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [“Ever notice how the same politicians who claim to be against trickle-down economics have no problem bailing out banks and other politically connected businesses?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-m-mcgroarty/ever-notice-how-the-same-politicians-who-claim-to-be-against-trickle/) [Colin M. McGroarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-m-mcgroarty/) > [My nightmare scenario is that the government saves Citibank once again, as well as the other banks, and business resumes as usual. Then, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/my-nightmare-scenario-is-that-the-government-saves-citibank-once/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“The rich run a global system that allows them to accumulate capital and pay the lowest possible price for labour. The freedom that results…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-moore/the-rich-run-a-global-system-that-allows-them-to-accumulate-capital/) [Charles Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-moore/) > [With post offices and postal workers already on the ground, USPS could partner with banks to make a critical difference for millions of Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/with-post-offices-and-postal-workers-already-on-the-ground-usps-could/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [Much of what Germany and France have done in the rescue of Greece has also helped German and French banks, who for a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-monti/much-of-what-germany-and-france-have-done-in-the-rescue-of-greece-has/) [Mario Monti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-monti/) > [The world needs banking but it does not need banks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-world-needs-banking-but-it-does-not-need-banks/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Banks are the temples of America. This is a holy war. Our economy is our religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giannina-braschi/banks-are-the-temples-of-america-this-is-a-holy-war-our-economy-is/) [Giannina Braschi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giannina-braschi/) > [In the old days we were the challenger brand competing against the big banks, but today I go round the world and I sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-dorfman/in-the-old-days-we-were-the-challenger-brand-competing-against-the/) [Lloyd Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-dorfman/) > [“The kind of data and the data-analytical perspective privy to banks is quite unique to banks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrith-vanlon-smith-jr-ceo-of-mayflower-plymouth/the-kind-of-data-and-the-data-analytical-perspective-privy-to-banks/) [Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, CEO of Mayflower-Plymouth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrith-vanlon-smith-jr-ceo-of-mayflower-plymouth/) > [If your only arbiter of anything is money, really you should... go and rob banks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-dickinson/if-your-only-arbiter-of-anything-is-money-really-you-should-go-and/) [Bruce Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-dickinson/) > [No paper trail means no banks. And no banks means cash houses. -Mia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fast-five/no-paper-trail-means-no-banks-and-no-banks-means-cash-houses-mia/) [Fast Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fast-five/) > [I did something that challenged the banking world. Conventional banks look for the rich; we look for the absolutely poor. All people are entrepreneurs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/i-did-something-that-challenged-the-banking-world-conventional-banks/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [I've always wanted to work with Elizabeth Banks. She's so talented and funny, and she's become this force of nature - directing, producing. Being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/i-ve-always-wanted-to-work-with-elizabeth-banks-she-s-so-talented-and/) [Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/) [Browse all 387 Banks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My father, Cecil Banks Mullis, and mother, formerly Bernice Alberta Barker, grew up in rural North Carolina in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. My dad's family had a general store, which I never saw. 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