Allan Charles Mueller

Allan Charles Mueller, 82, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 9, 2023.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 13, 2023, at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, 1123 Marsh Street, Mankato, with visitation two hours prior to the service. Interment will be at Pilgrim’s Rest Cemetery in Mankato.

Allan was born October 1, 1940 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was the first of three children born to Allan E. and Evelyn (Reed) Mueller. Allan grew up in Arlington, Minnesota, and attended St. Paul’s Lutheran School and Arlington High School. He cherished spending many childhood hours in his uncles’ hardware store and, later, his dad’s Ford dealership and garage. His hobbies included tinkering in the shop and working on cars.

Upon his high school graduation, Allan briefly attended the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis before enrolling in Dunwoody Industrial Institute. He graduated with a degree from the automotive department. He then began a 47.5-year career with Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), working as a Materials Engineer and Lab Chief.

Allan married Ellen Klankowski on February 18, 1967, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Caledonia, Minnesota. The couple were blessed with eleven children, whom they raised in Mankato. Allan enjoyed spending his free time with his family. He possessed a diverse set of mechanical skills and found great satisfaction in engaging in home, automotive, and do-it-yourself projects with his kids.

Allan enjoyed watching his children, and later his many grandchildren, participate in sports, music, arts, and various other school activities. For several years, Allan was an active member of the Mankato Area Radio Club, an amateur (ham) radio organization, and took great joy in being an active ham radio operator. He also enjoyed camping trips to the Boundary Waters with his children, as well as fishing, and hunting. Allan had a true thirst for knowledge and was an avid reader on a myriad of different topics. He was also an active member of Mt Olive Lutheran Church in Mankato for more than forty years.

Allan is survived by his wife of 56 years, Ellen; son, Michael of Mankato; son, David (Amy) of Madison Lake; son, Jonathan (Kimberly) of Mankato; daughter, Susan (Ryan) Hamen of Belle Plaine; son, Daniel of Mankato; son, Timothy (fiancée Christine Lloyd) of St. Peter; daughter, Julie of Mankato; son, Thomas of Mankato; son, Mark of Mankato; son, Matthew (Zion) of Lakeville; daughter, Jane (fiancé Phillip Geibe) of Jordan; brother, Glen (Sophie) Mueller of Cottage Grove; sister-in-law, Cheryl Klankowski of Caledonia; as well as multiple grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Allan was preceded in death by his father, Allan E. Mueller; mother, Evelyn Mueller; sister, Janyce Laabs; and parents-in-law, Louis and Mabel Klankowski.

Due to Allan’s lifelong commitment to Christian education, memorials are preferred to the education fund at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church and School in Mankato.

“I have fought the good fight,

I have finished the race,

I have kept the faith.”