Dale F. Mueller

He was born 15 February 1923 in Roodhouse, Illinois, the son of Elmer Emil Henry and Edith (Mellor) Mueller. He was at the University of Illinois Champagne-Urbana, when in December 1941 he enlisted in the Marine Corps. Finishing his training, he was assigned to the Pacific Theater, only to be notified of his appointment to the Naval Academy at Annapolis. The course being expedited because of the war, he graduated in June 1945, married Miss Elaine Mills on the same day, took her by train to her home on Long Island, and joined his ship, the USS San Diego. After the surrender, he spent his active duty years in the occupation, stationed at Nagasaki.

He left active service and returned home in 1949, completed his civilian education and taught mathematics in Morrison, Illinois. When the Naval Reserves were called up in 1951 for the Korean conflict, he returned to duty, serving at sea for two years, returning home in 1953. He took a teaching job in Valley Stream, New York, not far from the home of Elaine’s parents, Herbert F. and Margaret (Traver) Mills in Lynbrook on Long Island. He was drafted by the Boston Braves, but decided against pursuing a career in professional baseball.

In the summer of 1953 he took a job with Eastman Kodak in Rochester, and moved his family to Irondequoit in time for his eldest daughter to start third grade. He had a house built in Penfield that the growing family moved into between semesters in 1957; he threw energy into finishing the upstairs into bedrooms and an extra bathroom, planting and growing roses, adding a brick patio and turning a breezeway between the house and garage into an enclosed entry.

In 1966 he bought half an abandoned farm in the town of Milo in Yates County, five miles south of Penn Yan on the Bath Road. The only usable building on it was a big red barn right by the road. Dale’s ruling passion was to improve the place enough so Elaine would come down on weekends with him. An A-frame was built, and replaced by a cabin. Gradually, gas heat and lights were added, and running water.

Progress was halted for several years when in 1968 Kodak sent him to Guadalajara in Jalisco state, Mexico, about 1500 miles south of the border, in order to see the company’s second largest plant built, staffed and run. Only one of the children was out of school and living on her own, so there were by this time six still in the household, the oldest with her senior year in high school to complete, the youngest in first grade. The move itself was epic. Kodak Mexicana was a huge success, but Dale’s career there was shortened by a heart attack; the family returned to Penfield in 1971 and Dale returned to work at Kodak Park and finally at the office building in downtown Rochester. He acted as mental repository for the team conducting patent litigation in New York City for two years, and finished up his career as Director of Corporate Records Management in 1983, a title that kept him traveling throughout the world, particularly Asia.

It was at this time he took up quilting, a craft in which his mother and sister were expert, and whiled away the long flights putting his squares together. As with everything else he took up, he became an expert himself. A huge quilting frame took up one side of the family room at the cabin on the farm, which had grown into a full-fledged house in time for his retirement. His other passion was genealogy, which before the Internet allowed him to travel to repositories all across Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois in search of ancestors back as far as the 17th century on his mother’s side.

Once he retired to his farm he sank down very deep roots there. In all, even leaving out the hundreds of weekends and vacations he spent there before the house was built, he spent nearly 35 years of happy puttering; raising sheep for a while, and even collaborating with one of his sons to raise beef cattle. Hay was harvested for the animals on the place, and some for sale. Ducks and geese occasionally came to stay a season on the ponds, which also yielded bluegill and bass. He had an elaborate bird-feeding station outside one of the big windows, and derived perhaps his greatest pleasure sitting at the table there, drinking coffee and watching the birds.

He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 62 years, Elaine (Mills) Mueller, who died 23 May 2007; by his parents; his elder brother Charles (Harryat, also deceased) Mueller; and his younger sister, Emily (William) Weddersten.

He is survived by his seven children, all but two with Penn Yan addresses: Fran (Maurice, deceased) Dumas; Maggie (Tim) Mueller-Tyler of Oakton, Virginia; Pat (Manuel) Rios; Dan Mueller; Mike (Katherine) Mueller; Mary (Don) Zelazny; and Jim (Stacey) of Colorado; his grandchildren: Jennifer (Errick) Raner; Elaine Rios; Katherine Tyler; Patrick Tyler; Jack Tyler; Kevin Mueller; Charles Mueller; Stephanie Mueller; Dale Mueller; and Hannah Zelazny; his great grandchild: Sawyer Mueller; nieces and nephews, Jeanne Mueller; Harryatt (Rick) Houde; John (Bill) Mueller; and Christie (Ken) Pelletier; his dear companion, Nancy Gillette; and by many, many friends and acquaintances.

A gathering celebrating his life will be held on Saturday, November 4th, 2017 from 2 pm to 4pm at the Memorial Building at the Penn Yan United Methodist Church, 166 Main St., Penn Yan, NY. Memorial contributions may be made in Dale’s memory to Ontario-Yates Hospice, 756 Pre-Emption Rd., Geneva, NY 14456, Penn Yan Public Library, 214 Main St., Penn Yan, NY 14527 or to Soldiers & Sailors Cardiac Rehab, 418 N. Main St., Penn Yan, NY 14527.