Mark Mueller Jr.

Mark Mueller passed away on January 22, 2022 at the Holly Creek Retirement Community in Centennial, Colorado. He was born to Mark and Ruth (Murdock) Mueller in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on January 3, 1926. The family moved to Kansas City for a short time, then to Denver in 1928.  Mark liked to say he wasn’t a Denver native - he was already 2 years old when he got here.

He graduated from East High school during World War II and attended the University of Colorado for a year before he was old enough to join the army.  He served in the 99th Infantry Division and was wounded during his first time in combat.  By the time he rejoined his unit, the fighting was over, and he spent the remainder of his service in the Army of Occupation.  He was a guard at the Nuremburg War Crimes trials and at the lodgings of the Tribunal judges.

After his discharge, Mark reconnected with Margie Reinhardt, whom he had dated at CU (she was then teaching in California).  They returned to Boulder, where he graduated with a BS in electrical engineering, and they were married June 12, l948.  They moved to Denver and started raising 3 sons, born during 1949-53.  Mark and Margie celebrated their 72nd anniversary a few months before her death in 2019.

He initially worked in his father’s business selling electrical equipment.  In 1956 he got a job with the Glenn L Martin Company (now Martin Marietta), when they were expanding into the rocket business, and he moved his family to Littleton.  He eventually became a chief test engineer for the Titan missile, which was the launch vehicle for a number of satellites and the Gemini space capsules.  He retired in 1987.

Mark became a Mason and was a member of Park Hill Lodge, the Denver Consistory (Knight Commander of the Court of Honor), El Jebel Shrine, and the Royal Order of Scotland.   He also was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, the Disabled American Veterans, and the Denver Athletic Club.

In Littleton he worked with Boy Scout Troop 444 for 11 years as an Assistant Scoutmaster.  He served on the Board of Trustees and the Board of Elders for the First Presbyterian Church.  After their sons were grown, he and Margie travelled to all 50 States and 25 foreign countries.  They enjoyed hiking, particularly in Rocky Mountain National Park.  He also was an award-winning photographer and NASTAR gold-medal skier.  And he was a master of puns and Dad jokes (even before Dad jokes were a thing).  He loved to keep lists – of the States and National Parks he’d visited, of the State license plates he’d seen in a year, etc.  He said he had CDO, which is OCD with the letters arraigned alphabetically, as they should be.

Mark is survived by his three sons: Dave (Connie) of Golden, CO, John “CJ” of Breckenridge, CO, and Skip (Amy) of Los Altos, CA; six grandchildren: Keil (Alli) of Portland, OR, Patrick (Kristine) of Lakewood, CO, Anneke (Patrick) Hohl of Cumberland, ME, Kevin of San Francisco, CA, Katie of Los Altos, CA, and Melina (Blake) Thompson of Stephenville, TX; and four great-grandchildren: Liam and Hannah Hohl, Levi Mueller, and Silas Mueller.

A celebration of Mark’s life will be held at Holly Creek Retirement Community on Friday February 18th at 2:00pm.  and a memorial service is being planned for next June.  Memorial contributions can be made to the Denver Rescue Mission and or the Disabled American Veterans.