JoAnn Lois Mueller

Obituary

JoAnn Lois Mueller was born November 8, 1938, in Grafton Township, Sibley County, Minnesota, the daughter of Virgil and MeDora (Brooks) Jakobitz.  She was baptized in the Nazarene Church in Buffalo Lake as an infant, and confirmed as a youth in the EUB Church in Buffalo Lake.  JoAnn grew up in Grafton Township, and graduated from the Buffalo Lake High School.  She continued her education at Mankato State where she majored in Elementary Education, and later received her Master’s Degree from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

 On December 13, 1958, JoAnn was united in marriage to Roger Mueller at the EUB Church in Buffalo Lake.  The couple made their home in Buffalo Lake where they raised their three children, Brad, Brent, and Becky.  They were blessed with 51 years of marriage when Roger passed away on April 16, 2010.

JoAnn taught Kindergarten for 40 years at the Buffalo Lake Elementary School.  She retired in 2005.  She was a member of the Zion United Methodist Church, serving as a delegate to Annual Conference, lay leader, Sunday School teacher, amongst other roles.  While her children grew up, JoAnn served as a 4-H Leader, and later volunteered her time to 4-H.  She was involved with helping the teachers at Tesseract School where her granddaughters attended, and volunteered for disaster relief with the Red Cross traveling to Florida and the Gulf Coast for hurricane clean-up.

JoAnn enjoyed her career as a teacher and loved the little minds she had the opportunity to begin to mold. She had the opportunity to teach the children and even grandchildren of former students. She liked to travel, whether it be bus trips with her friends, her annual Florida trip with her daughter, or out of state soccer and basketball trips with her granddaughters.  Spending time at “the lake” was how summers were enjoyed and tending to beautiful flowers at home and the cabin.  A life-long sports fan, she faithfully attended her granddaughters’ sporting events, often hiding her eyes when the score got too close for comfort! She started reading to them at birth and never lost enthusiasm for all their school activities.  Each day she would take a morning walk, and enjoy coffee and conversation with friends.

On Wednesday morning, December 24, 2014, JoAnn passed away at Harmony River Living Center in Hutchinson, having reached the age of 76 years, 1 month, 16 days.  Blessed be her memory.

JoAnn is survived by her: Son Brad Mueller and his wife Kim of Lakeville, Minnesota, and their daughters Lily, Anna, and Grace; Son Brent Mueller of Buffalo Lake; Daughter Becky Carroll and her husband David of Becker, Minnesota, and their daughter Samantha;

Sister Merry Meyer and her husband Roger of Horicon, Wisconsin;

Brothers Bob Jakobitz and his wife Gloria of Buffalo Lake, Minnesota, and Larry Jakobitz and his wife Betty of Minnetonka, Minnesota;

Sisters-in-law Jeanette Richards of Buffalo Lake, Minnesota, Beverly Hansen and her husband John of Champlin, Minnesota, and Phyllis Wyttenhove of Chaska, Minnesota;

Nieces, Nephews, other relatives, and friends.

JoAnn was preceded in death by her parents, her beloved husband, Roger Lee Mueller, sister Elvera Broderius and her husband Buford, infant brother Allen Jakobitz, in-laws Henry and Agnes Mueller, and brothers-in-law Lyle Richards and Bob Wyttenhove.