On April 16, 2009, Ken left us and, with that, we now share a common emptiness in our lives. He was on his way to a day of sightseeing downtown with his business associate from India when he suffered a massive heart attack. He would not want us to mourn his death, but to celebrate his life, finding joy in his memory, remembering his laughter, and his energy.
He was a father, a brother, an uncle, a son, a husband, a friend and a grandpa - grandpa being his most cherished title. His “babies” as he referred to his grandchildren, were his constant joy. He never tired of them - always having time for visits to the park with Jenna and Caitlin or playing baseball with Cody or feeding the horses with Jessica. There was one rule in the Mueller household when it came to the babies and that was “there are no rules”. With each visit, he would become a child again - sharing in their enthusiasm and just plain having fun.
He would share with you his knowledge of history as he devoured every historical account he could find. He could weave you a story that would bring you back to another time and make you a part of the history in such a way that you would want to know more. He had that same lust for knowledge when it came to science, as we can all remember him in 8th grade being the one who had the answers in Science Class. Ask Ken a scientific question and if he didn’t know the answer, he would find it for you.
As my mentor, he lead me to a deeper understanding of what was important and brought forth my abilities - ever challenging me to go further and to learn more. He would teach me to see good in others and to accept flaws and failures as a part of being human.
He told me he never feared death. Death was just a passage from one life to another where he would continue in his quest for total enlightenment. As a Buddhist, he believed that he was a young soul and had many lives ahead of him. The stumbling along the way was part of the enlightenment process - so the difficult things in life were just stones on that path.
We will all remember and miss him in our own way. We can only hope that we will be lucky enough to meet him again in another lifetime.
Josie Gavurnik