Richard Mueller

Richard ('Dick') James Aloysius Mueller, age 78 of Warner, NH, passed away on June 16, 2026 after battling the deteriorating effects of acute pulmonary fibrosis.

Dick was born on July 19, 1947 to Richard and Aletha (Ames) Mueller in Oak Park, IL. He studied for the Glenmary Home Missioners at the Servite Minor Seminary in Hillside, IL, for 4 years and after graduating, went on to St. Meinrad's in southern Indiana, for 1 year before meeting his beloved wife, Linda, on a summer mission trip to St. Paul, Virginia. Dick went on to major in German literature at De Paul University before their marriage in 1968.

After graduation, he worked for the First National Bank of Chicago and then as a bookkeeper for R.R. Donnelly and Sons. Dick enlisted in the Air Force In 1970 in Manhattan (getting ahead of the Draft). In the Air Force, the Muellers lived (among many other appointments) in Texas, Kansas, Thailand, New York, Germany, California, Colorado, Florida, Washington D.C., and Virginia. During his career, Dick earned an MA in National Security Affairs (Naval Postgraduate School), and an MS in International Relations (Troy State University) before retiring from the Air Force as a Lt. Colonel. In 2001, Linda and Dick moved to Warner, NH, where Dick embarked on a second career as a high school teacher at Bishop Brady High School, where he was fondly known as 'The Colonel.'

Dick was a passionate Catholic and loved to help out in whatever was needed at the various parishes to which they belonged, leading Cursillos and Marriage Encounter talks with Linda, as well as Catechism and RCIA instruction, playing in the various church folk groups and choirs on military bases and local parishes where they served, and serving as lector and parish librarian, among other tasks. He was a linguist and, after German and the ancient languages, learned Vietnamese, Arabic, French, Thai, and others. He read voraciously, and later in life could be found reading about the benefits of homesteading and canning. In these last years, Dick was the full-time caregiver for Linda.

Dick was predeceased by his beloved wife, Linda, both parents and his sister-in-law, Linda Mallon. He is survived by his five children: Kerrie (Ted) Diers, Richard (Ceridwen), Margaret (aka, Sr. Mary Amata, OP), Karl (Stephanie), and Andrew, and ten grandchildren: Nathaniel, Ella, Leo, Marc, Caleb, Sonja, Gus, Toby, Linus, and Rosemary, as well as his 11 siblings: Laurel (Raymond) Wanat, Patricia (Jarl) Nischan, Paul (Sage) Mueller, Mary (Jay) Donovan, John Mueller, M (Georgie) Mueller, Therese (Michael) Capels, Judith (Jay) Ruhling, Janet (Ric) Forero, Cathy (Ken) Beyer, Jim (Cathy) Mueller.

There will be a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Theresa's Church in Henniker on July 1 at 10:30am, preceded by an hour of Visitation in the church. Dick will be buried at 2pm that day in the Boscawen Veterans Cemetery in NH. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to your favorite charity.

Services have been entrusted to Holt-Woodbury Funeral Home. www.holtwoodburyfh.com.