Paul John Mueller, Jr., age 92 years, of Clinton, NJ, died peacefully on Thursday, January 4, 2024, at Morristown Medical Center, Morristown, NJ, surrounded by his cherished family.

Paul loved life and his family fully and without inhibition. His kindness, integrity, sincerity, and playfulness attracted everyone to him. He was a devoted husband to Carole for 69 years, constantly reaching out to hold her hand, (a maneuver he called “the hand of friendship”), planning romantic date nights, and ultimately converting to Catholicism to share her faith. He was a beloved father of 6, grandfather of 12, and great-grandfather of 6. He spoiled them all, planning trips to his birthplace of Cincinnati (especially if it was to see the Cincinnati Reds), Dairy Queen, and the yearly drive to Ocean Isle Beach. His love of baseball, in particular, was out of the park, and he coached a family of avid players. Paul played the game, scouted for the Houston Astros, led the Basking Ridge Babe Ruth travel team to the 1985 NJ State Championship, was on the Ridge High School Hall of Fame Committee, and rarely missed a game or event that his children or grandchildren participated in. Paul always looked forward to enlarging the family further, frequently asking when he could “pencil in a (wedding) date” to any unsuspecting boyfriend or girlfriend who showed up to dinner for the first time.

Paul was a connoisseur of Klondike Bars, Marshmallow Fluff, the Cincinnati grand slam (breakfast at the Hitching Post, lunch at Skyline Chili, a ribs dinner at the Montgomery Inn, and dessert at Graeter’s Ice Cream), and a hater of all green vegetables. He was modest to a fault—never mentioning his professional achievements at AT&T and Bell Labs, his esteemed master of science degree in management from Pace University, or finishing as the top student in baseball scouting school, which he attended after retirement. Instead he loved to tell stories, as long as they were good ones: about meeting his wife when she was dancing on tables at Dinty Moore’s (most likely untrue). He also maintained that he was coerced into marriage when his wife asked if he would like to go on a date, he said “I do,” and a priest popped out of the bushes and said “I now pronounce you man and wife!” (Also likely untrue). He loved to sing but was famously terrible at it: his tuneless repertoire included “Hey Good Looking,” “Shrimp Boats,” and “Ebb Tide.” Family dinners at the Mueller household were entertaining events as Paul (no doubt applying his major in journalism from Ohio University) loved to playfully quiz his children on spelling (they all know how to spell “meringue”) and SAT word analogies (they all know that “parsimonious” is the same as “stingy”).

His generosity and compassion were legendary, spanning decades of volunteer service at St. Joseph Church in High Bridge and St. James Church in Basking Ridge, as well as at Ridge Oak Senior Center. When coaching, he always made sure that all of his players played equal time, regardless of skill level. And he never borrowed a car without leaving it with a tank full of gas.

Paul is survived by his beloved wife, Carole, his children, Paul (Sharon), Carole (Andy), Mark, Stephen (Jennifer), Matthew (Louise), and Peter (Kerry), and by his grandchildren, Emily (Noah), Patricia (Evan), Amy (Patrik), Melissa (Taro), Brett (Molly), Jordan (John), Sarah (Bryan), Chris, Julia, James, Caroline and Catherine, and great grandchildren, Claire, Peter, Grace, Jack, Austin, and Violet.

Paul was predeceased by his parents, Ruby and Paul Mueller, his sister, Gwynne Holohan and brother, David Mueller.

Paul will lie in repose on Friday, January 12, 2024, from 5:00-8:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.

A Mass of Christian Burial celebrated by Rev. Maurice Carlton will take place on Saturday, January 13, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Church, 59 Main Street, High Bridge, NJ 08829. Everyone is kindly asked to meet directly at the church on Saturday morning beginning at 10:45 a.m., and to follow the instructions of the Wright & Ford Care Team Family Ambassadors upon arrival for parking and cemetery cortege formation.

If you need assistance getting into church or are handicapped, please see the Ambassadors when you pull up near the front of the church.

Burial will follow at Immaculate Conception Cemetery, 316 Old Allerton Road, Annandale, NJ, and to which all are welcome.

You are encouraged to visit Paul’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of his life.

In lieu of flowers, those who wish to honor Paul are asked to make a contribution to St. Joseph Church in High Bridge, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, or to have a Klondike Bar in his honor.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”

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