Victor Mueller

Victor J. Mueller, age 71, of Princeton, WI, passed away on Monday, December 23, 2013, at Ripon Medical Center, Ripon, with family by his side.

Victor was born on November 29, 1942, in Ripon, WI, the son of Victor T. and Irene E. (Wayer) Mueller. He graduated from Ripon High School and attended college at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh before serving our country in the U.S Air Force from April of 1964 to September of 1968. Victor grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and often referred to himself as the “Pig farmer from Pickett”. He was an avid outdoorsman and loved to spend time on his land. He was only six years old when he started collecting stones and the curiosity was sparked. Along with the stones, there was always an interest in Indian arrowheads and tomahawks-items he could find in the fields of their farm. During his high school years, Victor built his own polisher to polish stones, and then would set them in mountings to sell. Devotion to stones grew as he read everything he could find on gemstones. His hobby led him to study Gemology and Minerals in Idar-Oberstein, Germany; diamond grading in London; and later at Thailand’s Asian Institute of Gemological Science (AIGS) studying ruby and sapphire. Over the years Victor has traveled the world; mining stones, buying gemstones, manufacturing jewelry and running his own cutting factory in Thailand. In the late 1980’s he opened a shop as a gemstone dealer. Within a few years, starting in 1991, he was selling loose gemstones on air at a home shopping network. After twenty years of selling stones on television, Victor has decided to start a new venue – the internet. He was a Gemstone Importer for 27 years in the United States, and 31 years in total. Victor was a member of Safari Club International; Wings over Wisconsin; Ducks Unlimited; and the National Wild Turkey Foundation.

Survivors include his daughter, Stephanie A. Mueller, Berlin, WI; two brothers, Jim (Linda) Mueller, Pickett, WI, and Tom (Patti Kuhn) Mueller of Ripon, WI; fiancée, Rosemary Wilhelms, Princeton, WI; close friend/confidant, Susan “Susie” Krohn, Brandon, WI; two nieces, Lindsey (Randy) Villalobos, and Hailey Mueller; one nephew, Josh Mueller; and many other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, and one brother, Gordon “Gordie” Mueller.

Visitation for Victor J. Mueller will be held Friday, December 27, 2013, from 4:00- 8:00 p.m. at the Butzin-Marchant Funeral Home, 515 Mayparty Drive, Ripon, WI 54971 and again on Saturday, December 28, 2013, from 9:00-11:00 a.m. at Our Saviour’s United Church of Christ, 343 Scott Street, Ripon, WI 54971.

Funeral service for Victor J. Mueller will be held on Saturday, December 28, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. at Our Saviour’s United Church of Christ, Ripon. Reverend Jerry Schrankler and Reverend Gary Miller will officiate. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes you to donate to a charity of your choice.

Please visit www.butzinmarchant.com to send online condolences