Hundreds of people came to pay their respects to a man who dedicated his life to educating and helping eastern Kentuckians.

Mike Mullins, the Executive Director of the Hindman Settlement School, died Sunday, Feb. 19. His visitation was at the Hindman Funeral Services Chapel. His son said the crowd is a testament to how many lives were touched by the man who led the settlement school for nearly three and a half decades.

“It means a lot we saw that every day but it is good to know that the community saw how hard he worked and how much he loved this area, this area, this region and Appalachia and to see this out pouring of support, it kind of validates all the work that he has done his entire life,” said Dr. Nathan Mullins.

Mullins' funeral will be held on Feb. 23 at 1 pm also at the funeral home. He was 63 years old.