Wolfgang Mueller

Wolfgang Mueller, 83, of Hot Springs Village, a well-known singer and successful inventor for the IBM Corp., died Monday, March 28, 2011, at home in Hot Springs Village. Mr. Mueller, who would have been 84 years old on April 7, was born in Bruehl, Germany, and served his country in World War II after being selected for an elite military school when he was 14 years old. After one particularly horrific battle, Mueller was one of 440 of 10,000 Germans who survived to surrender to American forces. After the war, Mueller was 19 and returned to his hometown to find it occupied by Soviet troops. He took a bus west and ended up in an area controlled by Americans and became the first German hired as a mechanic to work for the Air Transport Command. Mueller later worked in Europe on Stratocruisers for American Airlines and then switched to Pan Am. He joined Remington Rand and, in 1952, married his late wife, Maria. Later that year, Mueller moved to the United States and went to work for IBM. Over the next 34 years, Mueller applied his inventive skills to a wide variety of projects, retiring as an advisory engineer with more than 40 patents to his credit. The Muellers lived in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., for 31 years. In 1989, another German couple urged the Muellers to check out Hot Springs Village. They found it reminded them of the Black Forest in Germany. A year later, after pushing the Property Owners' Association for both a building permit and a water tower atop Mesero Way, they became the first to build a private home overlooking Lake Lago, some 350 feet below. Mueller designed his home around a large-screen theater in his basement where he continued to tinker with electronics and other mechanical devices. He was a member of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church and a Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree. His singing career began after joining the church. He sang in the choir and later became a cantor. Over the next two decades, he sang bass with the Barcelona Baptist Church choir, Cedar Mountain Singers, Bach Chorale, Hot Springs Musical Festival Chorus and in various productions at Woodlands. He was a featured singer at Memorial Day services at CedarVale Cemetery and was active in square dancing, tennis and scuba diving. Mr. Mueller is predeceased by his parents, Charlotte and Friedrich Mueller, and wife, Maria Fell Mueller. Survivors include his long-time friend and companion, Charlotte Weil; brothers Werner Mueller of Peekskill, N.Y.; Klaus Mueller of Leipzig, Germany, and sister, Hannelore Ehrhardt of Rastenberg, Germany and their families. In Lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Hot Springs Village, Ark or to charity of choice. Arrangements are by CedarVale Funeral Home and services will be announced at a later time. Guests may register at www.atkinsonfuneralhome.net.

Wolfgang Mueller

April 7, 1927 - March 28, 2011