Dr. Paul F. Muller

February 17, 1915 - May 23, 2015

Dr. Paul Muller died peacefully on May 23, 2015 at age 100. He will be greatly missed. As a physician he was compassionate, generous, and concerned for his patients’ welfare. To his family and friends, he quietly set an example of high moral values, a strong work ethic and a commitment to community service. His passing leaves a deep hole in the hearts of his family and friends who loved him dearly.

Paul was born in 1915 in Lawrenceburg, Indiana to Francis Mueller and Matilda Frederick, where he attended Lawrenceburg High School. He went on to study at Notre Dame University before finishing medical school at St. Louis University in May of 1941.

With World War II looming, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps as a flight surgeon in the summer of 1941. During his four years in the Army Air Corps, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and pioneered the air evacuation of the wounded in France and Germany, saving the lives of many American soldiers.

After his military service, Dr. Paul Muller completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Cornell University in New York where he was Chief Resident. He started his private practice in Indianapolis in 1951, becoming the first Catholic obstetrician in the city and delivering hundreds of babies. Always curious and inventive, he performed the first intrauterine blood transfusion in Indiana, a lifesaving procedure for unborn babies. Dr. Muller became the Head of OB/GYN at St. Vincent Hospital and served as Medical Director until his retirement.

Paul was an avid golfer at Crooked Stick Golf Club and was thrilled with his two hole-in-ones. His last ace was on the 6th hole at Crooked Stick when he was 93 years old. He also enjoyed researching his family’s genealogy and learned that his grandparents, Johann Baptist Mueller and Bertha Lochmann, came to the United States in the 1860s from St. Gallen, Switzerland during the large German migration into Southern Indiana. Johann was the sacristan at St. Ferdinand Catholic Church in Ferdinand, Indiana. Paul’s father, Francis Mueller, studied medicine in Vienna in the late 1890s and practiced in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. As a child, Paul often accompanied his father to patient visits in a horse and buggy on the back country roads of Dearborn County.

Dr. Paul Muller was active in many community organizations. He served as President of the Serra Club of Indianapolis from 1960-1961. He was president of the Notre Dame Club of Indianapolis and was awarded “Man of the Year” in 1964. He also provided medical services at St. Elizabeth’s Home and was a member of St. Luke Catholic Church.

In 1942, Paul married Ruth Ann Courtney, and together they had seven children. Paul and Ruth had a long and loving relationship until Ruth’s passing in 1981. Paul married Ann Eastman in 1982, to whom he was devoted until her death in 2010.

Paul was proud of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Paul is survived by his children: James (Kathleen) Muller, Joanne Kuebler (Hollister Sturges), John Muller (Donna Newgent), Susan Muller, Paul Muller (Teresa Schnorr), Maryanne Muller (Michael Krugman), and Robert Muller (Susan Messinger); three step-children: Cornelius (Victoria) Eastman, Joseph (Celia) Eastman, and Michelle Eastman; sixteen grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren and Virginia Williams, a long-time family friend who was like a daughter to Paul and Ruth.

All will miss Paul, but will carry into the future his example of a life well-lived in the service of family, friends, and community.

Visitation will be from 5 – 7 pm on Thursday, May 28th at St. Luke Catholic Church, and again Friday morning, May 29th from 10:30 am until time of Mass of Christian Burial at 11:30 am at church. Interment follows at Our Lady of Peace Cemetery. Memorial contributions are suggested to St. Augustine Home for the Aged Little Sisters of the Poor or to Saint Meinrad Archabbey.