1929-2026
Roland M. Mueller, 96, passed away on June 15, 2026 at Cumbernauld Village in Winfield.
Funeral services will be held at 10 AM at Trinity Lutheran Church Thursday June 18th, 2026 and burial will follow at Highland Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5-7 PM Wednesday June 17th at Shelley Family Funeral Home. In leu of flowers, memorials have been established for Trinity Lutheran Church, Lutheran Hour Ministries, and Cowley County Historical Society.
Roland was born June 16, 1929, near Athens, WI, to Arthur and Mathilda Mueller (Mothers maiden name). and was baptized as God's own child on June 30, 1929. He received his elementary education at Lutheran schools in Athens and Wausau, WI, and graduated from Concordia High School, River Forest, IL, in 1947. In 1951 he earned the BA from Concordia Teachers College on the same campus. He earned the MA from Colorado State College of Education at Greeley, CO, in 1955 and the PhD in History from Kansas University in 1978. His dissertation topic was "Tents and Tabernacles: The Chautauqua Movement In Kansas."
He served as teacher and principal at Lutheran schools in River Grove, IL, and Greeley from 1951 to 1956. From 1956 to 1986 he taught courses in history and social sciences at St. John's College and from 1986 to 1994 at Concordia University, Irvine, CA, where he retired.
In 1951 he married Norma Volz, who was also a teacher. She passed away in 1995. They had two children, John and Karen. In 1999 he returned to Winfield and married Donna Seeliger. The couple now resides at Cumbernauld Village.
Roland was a long-time member of Trinity, where he sang in the choir, taught a variety of Bible classes and with Donna, directed Trinity's Golden Eagles senior program for fifteen years. He wrote Trinity's history in1982 and updated it in 2007. He was a member of Winfield Kiwanis Club, Winfield's Main Street Committee and St. John's Alumni Board pf Directors. After retiring in 1994, he taught church history courses for congregations in CA and KS.
Roland's interest in local history led him to be active in writing and promoting Winfield's history. This included helping to organize and direct the county historical society and museum for twenty years as well as writing numerous newspaper articles and giving programs on behalf of Winfield's history. From 2000 to 2014 he directed the annual Celebrate Winfield History conference. He was a member of several state and national professional organizations.
Special interests included enjoying sacred and classical music, doing woodworking projects and collecting: campaign buttons, rocks, stamps, and old postcards.
Roland was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Mathilda Mueller, brothers Martin and Robert, and sisters Margaret and Fritzi. He is survived by his wife Donna; son John (Irene), Louisville, KY; daughter Karen, Minnetonka, MN; and sister Carol Hannah, Deerfield, IL; stepchildren Carlene Benscoter (Randy), Nampa, ID; and Mark Seeliger (Katherine) and Mike Seeliger (Carolyn) of Winfield, as well as grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
