Muller, John Bernhardt (1889-1958)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1958 Dec 18 p. 8

Birth date: 1889 May 10

text of obituary:

JOHN BERNHARDT MULLER

John Bernhard Muller was born in Germany, in the state of Hanover,on May 10, 1889. His mother came from a family of the German nobility. Early in his life a family situation growing out of the marriage of a noble lady to a commoner cast little John into a foster home. Also at an early age a rheumatic condition developed which in later years gave terrible pain and twisted his skilled fingers.

He came to America at the age of 14, and lived for a number of years in New York city.

In 1920 he moved to South Dakota,where he became a potato grower. He was sometimes spoken of as the Potato King of South Dakota. Some years later the market dropped and the prosperity began to wane.

In 1924 he moved to Denver where he learned the trade of building. There also he met the sister-in-law of the man who taught him the building trade. He fell in love with her. Her name was Susanna Voth.

Five years after moving to Denver, Mr. Muller came to Wichita and established the Muller Construction Company. Having set up his business, he set about changing the name of Miss Voth and establshing a home. On June 28, 1931, they drove to the home of Rev. Arnold Funk at Hillsboro, where they were united in marriage. Then they began keeping house, which from the very beginning was an open house.

The group of Mennonites in Wichita had no church home. John and Susie worked hard to develop a congregation. their home became the church, as in the New Testament.

In 1932 the congregation was organized and a building constructed. This was first the church, then the parsonage. Now it serves as a church annex. Mr. and Mrs. Muller and Mrs. Muller's two sisters were four of the 17 charter members.

There was need for still more space, so the group set out,with much help and leadership from the Mullers, to raise money to build a new church building. Mr. Muller supervised the construction of this sturdy building. Typical of his construction, the building has 13-inch thick stone walls. John served in many other capacities in this church, such as deacon, Sunday school superintendent, and Sunday school teacher.

In the last years John has endured much pain. He was bedfast for more than four years.

John was not only a builder, he was a gardener. He loved beautiful flowers. He worked many hours in his garden. A gardener and a builder — that was John.

Surviving him is his widow, Susanna Voth Muller, who shared with him the joys and service, the difficult and painful hours of the last 26 years.

Funeral services were held at the Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church in Wichita, Rev. G. S. Stoneback, officiating.