Mulally was born in Oakland, California. He was the son of Lauraine Lizette (Clark) and Charles R. Mulally, who met at a USO dance. Mulally grew up in his mother's hometown of Lawrence, Kansas. This was where he was a member of Plymouth Congregational Church. He considered Rev. Dale Turner "a mentor and an inspiration". He used to sit at the front of the church to study the minister's influence on the congregation. Mulally said that he was motivated at the age of 17 by president John F. Kennedy's challenge to send a man to the moon.