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Obituary For James Richard Mueller
November 1, 1942 – May 6, 2023
It’s with heavy hearts we announce that Jim passed away on May 6, 2023, at the age of eighty. He is survived and will be missed by Marge, his beloved wife and best friend for 50 years. He was an adored father to daughters Kim (Shane), Holly (Sinan), and Jennifer (Byron), and much-loved papa to Taylor, James, Aliyar, Mikail and Sophie.
James (Jim) Mueller was born on November 1, 1942, to Dr James A Mueller and Eva Garland Mueller in Whittemore, Iowa. Subsequently, his father opened his medical practice in Lewistown, Montana. Tragically his father died in an airplane crash in 1953. Shortly after his mother took a teaching position in Bozeman, Montana to be near his sister Virginia.
Jim received his Commercial Pilots, Helicopter Commercial Pilots and Helicopter Flight Instructor license in Reno, Nevada in 1967 and in 1978 received his Aircraft Maintenance Engineer licence in Grande Prairie, Texas. He lived in Montana for the most part until he accepted a position with Bow Helicopters in Calgary, Alberta in early 1970. He purchased his first helicopter in 1973 and accepted a contract with the Forest Service’s in Fort Smith, NWT where he met his wife, Marguerite Bourque (Marge). They married in Green River Wyoming, USA later that year and lived in Calgary, Alberta. While there Jim’s was the first pilot to operate an Air Ambulance making headlines in the Calgary News paper. In 1978 Jim took a position with a Darvel Helicopters at which time they made their home in Grande Prairie, Alberta, later moving to an acreage near smith where they raised their three beautiful daughters. Jim was so proud of his girls, although his pride was heightened when they all became members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Jim had a very interesting career as a Helicopter Pilot as his work took him to many countries from Australia, New Guinea, Mexico, USA and throughout Canada. Jim became a Canadian Citizen in 1993 and traveled all around the globe and was well read with a vast knowledge of many subjects. He was a highly skilled Pilot and was known for his precision and flew into some very tight spots, as a Heli Skiing Pilot and fire fighting, people felt safe in his hands. During his flying career he was part of the crew that picked up the debris from the NASA Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986. One of his funniest stories flight experiences was during the Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans he was pilot that rescued dogs for Oprah Winfrey while people were still hanging on at the top of houses. When Jim was home, he loved working on various projects in his shop and was a real handyman and amateur inventor.
Jim looked forward to family gatherings and sharing his worldly stories while enjoying a special meal Marge would make, along with the house decked out in keeping with each season. These gatherings brought much laughter, as he loved to tease his children and grandchildren. After a wonderful meal everyone would play games into the night with much bugging and laughter. He also got such a kick out of his daughter Jen calling him annoynk (annoying). Christmas was always a special time with family, and we could always count on Jim dressing up as Santa Clause for his girls. Once Jim retired, he enjoyed puttering around his rural property with his dog and spending time with his family. Jim will always be remembered by his friends and family as a kind and gentle man. They will also smile when they think of his sense of humour, Jim always loved to tease and joke. He was well-known for spending a great deal of his time watching his favourite TV shows and reading.
Jim often spoke of his childhood best friend John DeBock, they first met when he moved to Bozeman at age 12 and remain friends throughout the years. John never failed to call Jim on his birthday to wish him well.
Jim always had a special animal friend from Buffy, Sandy, Gizmo and Rascal that he loved and would say a dog is truly a man’s best friend.
Jim shared many stories over the years of his boating, hunting, and fishing trips with Dan Jenny who mentored him at a young age after losing his father. After marrying Marge his father-in-law became like a dad and his brothers-in-law became brothers. They went on many flying, boating, hunting, and fishing trips together. Jim loved sharing the many funny stories they had on these trips right to his last days and when he recalled these memories a big smile would appear.
The family extend their gratitude to the attending physicians and nurses of the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital who provided the care for Jim for these past difficult eight months. We also acknowledge Doug Friesen and his staff at the Bear Creek Funeral Home & Cremation Sanctuary for their respect, kindness, patience, and support during this time.
He is survived by his beloved wife, children, grandchildren, extended family, and friends. Cremation has taken place and a private family interment will be held on July 4th in Montana, USA.
He was predeceased by his parents, sister Virginia Frantzick, niece Gail and Nephew Gary.
Care entrusted to Bear Creek Funeral Home 780 830 7742 bearcreekfuneral.com
01/11/1942 06/05/2023
Death notice for the town of: Grande-Prairie, Province: Alberta
death notice James Richard Mueller 01/11/1942 06/05/2023
obituaries notice James Richard Mueller 01/11/1942 06/05/2023
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of James Richard Mueller 01/11/1942 06/05/2023 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
