IN MEMORIAM
EXPANDED EULOGIES
Vivian Mueller
Vivian Claire (Pope) Mueller died at age 88 Saturday, January 12, 2019 in Newton. Services were Jan. 19 in Hillsboro.
Vivian was born June 17, 1930 in Hillsboro, the sixth of seven children of Reuben Sam Pope and Enid Lillian (Powers) Pope.
A lifelong Kansan, she grew up on her family’s farm in Durham along with her brothers, Wayne, Warren, and Randall, and her sister, Lucy.
Two other siblings, Ethelyn and Donald, died as children.
Vivian graduated from Durham High School in the class of 1948. Shortly thereafter, on Sept. 10, 1948 at First Baptist Church in Durham, she married the love of her life, Norman E. Mueller.
Norman had served in the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II and was recalled for the Korean War after the birth of their first child.
Vivian and Norman had three children, whom they raised in Canada: Norm (and wife Christine Murphy) of Denver; Barry (and wife Julie) of Lebanon, Oregon; and Jo (and husband Wade) Alexander of Marion and Salina.
Vivian became a widow when Norman, whom she had taken faithful care of for several years at the end of his life, died in February 2015.
Vivian joined the Lutheran Church in 1949 and was a long-time member and dedicated supporter of Zion Lutheran Church in Hillsboro.
Vivian was a devoted mother and wife who made a loving home for her family. She was a superb cook. Ask anyone who has ever tasted one of her pies!
When her children were grown, she began to work outside the home, first at Hillsboro Public Library, then in the optometry office of Richard Harms.
For almost a decade, she managed the Hillsboro gas station and store operated by Cardie Oil Co., a business owned by her husband and brothers-in-law.
Vivian was a loving and generous grandmother and great-grandmother. Witness the trips to Hawaii and Costa Rica on which she took her entire family.
A strong woman and fierce, she was a splendid example for her daughter, four granddaughters, and soon-to-be 11 great-granddaughters. (No. 11 is to be named for her great-grandmother.)
Vivian is survived by her brother, Randall; her three children; and eight grandchildren: Norm’s children, Luke (and wife Maria Clara Rios), Adam (and wife Tenley), and Claire (and husband Carlos Bustos Jara); Barry’s sons, Brandon (and wife Jenen), Travis (and wife Kellie Lewis), and Spencer (and wife Barbi Tabor); and Jo’s daughters, Erin (and husband Shawn) Markley and Caitlin (and husband Jake) Adkins.
Other survivors include 14 great-grandchildren: Jeremy, Theo, Kole, and Sonoma Mueller; Logan Mueller; Ella, Lily, and Logan Markley; Reagan, Quinn, and Collins Adkins; Isla and Nora Mueller; and Alicia Mueller.