Richard John Fredrich Mueller

Richard John Fredrich Mueller, 93, peacefully passed away on April 10, 2020 in Bountiful, Utah. Richard was born on September 23, 1926 in Danzig, Germany to Fredrich Heinrich Wilhelm Mueller and Katharina Lina Gertrude Kossin. At the age of eight, he was baptized in the Baltic Sea.  Richard was a faithful, lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Richard attended elementary, middle, and German high school in Danzig, Germany. In May 1944, he received his Wartime High School diploma.  Afterwards, he was drafted into the German Army.  Following basic training, he entered the German Army Officer School.  In March 1945, he graduated with honors.  Soon thereafter, he was taken as a Prisoner of War (POW) by the British Army in Northern Germany. He spent nine months in a POW Camp in Belgium.

Following his release as a prisoner of war, he attempted to return to his hometown of Danzig, Germany.  However, that area had become part of Poland.  A few weeks later, he was reunited with his parents and together they settled in Langen (Hesse), a small city between Frankfurt and Darmstadt. While living with his parents, he served a two-year leadership mission in Offenbach, Germany.

Professionally, Richard trained to become a school teacher and taught school in Germany.  In June 1951, he immigrated to the United States.  Three months after arriving in Utah, he was drafted into the United States Army and sent back to Germany. While stationed there, he met a beautiful returned LDS missionary named Hannelore Ehrler. After speaking with her for just ten minutes, he knew she was the one for him. They wrote to each other while Richard finished his military duty and returned to America. He found sponsors for Hannelore and her mother so they could come to America.  They arrived in August 1953.  On September 11, 1953, Richard and Hannelore were married.  Two months later, their marriage was solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple.  Their earthly happiness together lasted 58 years until Hannelore's passing on May 20, 2011.

Richard loved his wife, his family, the gospel of Jesus Christ, missionary work, and temple work. His life was enriched by countless years of service.  For many years, Richard served as a Seventy and a stake missionary.  Together with Hannelore, he sang in the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square for 14 years.  They served together on the Temple Square Concert Series Committee for 13 years. They also served together as missionaries in the Salt Lake Inner City Mission and in the Freiberg Germany Temple.  They served together as workers in the Bountiful Utah Temple for six years.

Richard was blessed with a keen mind and amazing memory, both of which he maintained until his passing.  During the daytime, he continued his education while working as a manager for a wholesale jewelry business. In the evenings, he studied accounting, took tax classes, and started his own accounting practice, proudly serving the German community and Salt Lake taxpayers for over 56 years before he retired.  He was very proud to be an American and like his wife, never missed voting in an election.

Richard loved sports and was a huge fan of all local sports teams including BYU, U of U, the Utah Jazz, and RSL.  However, he was a truly devoted fan of "The Beautiful Game" and had a passion for soccer, particularly German fussball.  He enjoyed sharing his memories of traveling by train to Frankfurt and trudging through the woods with his brothers, Rudi and Heino, to the Waldstadion.  There they would watch his favorite team, Eintracht Frankfurt, take on all challengers.

Richard is preceded in death by his parents, Wilhelm and Katharina, his wife, Hannelore, his sister Wilma, his brothers Rudi and Heino and their spouses, and a granddaughter, Jessica.  He is survived by his children, Michael (Ila) Mueller, Patricia (Frank) Collins, Gordon (Yvonne) Mueller, Nancy (Thomas) Nelson, and John (Vickie) Mueller, twenty-four grandchildren, and sixteen great-grandchildren.

On Friday, April 17, 2020 his family gathered for an intimate graveside service.  A memorial service will be planned when we can again join together to hug, laugh, cry, and rejoice in Richard's well-lived life.