WWII vet was postmaster at Luna Pier office

12/8/2008

TEMPERANCE - Robert J. Muehleise, a World War II veteran and longtime postal worker who retired as postmaster from the Luna Pier Post Office, died Saturday in his home here. He was 84.

The cause of death was not known, said his daughter Laura Reece.

"Everyone really liked him," Mrs. Reece said. "He always had a joke, was always very talkative, always had a story, and he was very people-oriented - just a really wonderful person."

Mr. Muehleise was a native of Monroe, where his grandparents, who were German, settled after moving to America. Muehleisen Road in the city was named after the family. That was the original spelling of the family name before Mr. Muehleise's grandfather made the change, Mrs. Reece said.

Mr. Muehleise graduated from Monroe High School in 1941 and was selected for officer candidate school at DePaul University in Chicago. He served in the Army during World War II in the Pacific.

"He was very good storyteller and he would tell us some comical stories of the war and he could always put a funny twist on things," Mrs. Reece said. "Since he was in the infantry, he was right on the front lines and he also told the bad stories too about the guy in the foxhole next to him who was there one minute and not there the next."

Mr. Muehleise was awarded the Purple Heart after being struck by shrapnel.

In recent years, he spoke as an inspirational speaker - often recounting the war - to students at St. Rose Elementary School in Perrysburg and Perrysburg High School, where his grandchildren attended.

In 1951, Mr. Muehleise began working for the postal service as a clerk. He became postmaster at the Luna Pier Post Office 15 years later and retired in 1981.

Mr. Muehleise was a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Temperance, where he volunteered for many activities and was an usher in the church's Ministry of Praise.

Surviving are his wife of 61 years, Ellen; daughters, Anne DuCharme and Laura Reece; son, Patrick Muehleise; 11 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

The body will be in the Bedford Funeral Chapel in Temperance after 2 p.m. today, where there will be a Scripture service at 5 p.m.

The funeral will at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church.

The family suggest tributes to Honor Flight Network.