Janice B. Mueller

Janice Ann Mueller, (nee Boden), 85, formerly of Lambertville, Michigan, passed away on June 7, 2017, surrounded by her loving family on the 65th anniversary of her wedding day. Born on January 4, 1932 to Harry Wallace Boden and Mary Eugenia (Karr) Boden in Defiance, Ohio, Janice lived on her grandparents’ farm until age 4. She was a 1949 graduate of DeVilbiss High School and 1953 graduate of the University of Toledo, majoring in chemistry. She had her first child and first wedding anniversary the same week that she graduated from college. Janice met her future husband, Richard A. (Dick) Mueller, as a child in their shared Bancroft Hills neighborhood of Toledo. They married on June 7, 1952 and were married for 42 years before he passed away in 1995. Janice lived in the same home she shared with her husband and family in the Green Hills neighborhood in Lambertville, Michigan for over 50 years. Janice was a registered Medical Technologist (MT-ASCP) who enjoyed the challenges and rewards of laboratory science. She was a quintessential role model: a working mother who always put her family first. Janice worked at Riverside Hospital and Children’s Hospital in the 1950s and early 1960s. In 1965, she joined Flower Hospital where she worked in the Breyman Laboratory in cancer research and immunology. Janice enjoyed a 32-year career with Flower Hospital, where she retired as Director of the Laboratory in 1997. Intellectually curious, Janice was an avid reader, a life-long learner, and a civic volunteer. Janice and Dick were active with the Toledo Jaycees where Janice served as President of the Jay-C-Ettes. She was a member and officer of the Toledo chapter of the American Society of Clinical Medical Technologists for many years. Janice volunteered at the Bedford Library Local History Room as an obituary archivist and spent two decades researching her family’s genealogical history back to the 1700s. Janice bought her first PC in the early 1980s and was always technologically savvy. She loved solving crossword, jigsaw, and Sudoku puzzles, playing board games and cards with her grandchildren, and reading books on her two tablets. Following her retirement, she took several Great Books classes at Lourdes College. Janice was also a talented crafter, creating beautiful needlepoint, cross-stitch, knitted, and crocheted projects for family and friends. A 36-year breast cancer survivor, she knitted shawls for Baskets of Care, a Toledo-area charity for breast cancer patients. Janice also enjoyed traveling throughout the United States and destinations such as Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, the Canadian Rockies, Australia, and her favorite of all – New Zealand. With five children, a husband, and demanding career, Janice’s philosophy was always, “I’m flexible!” Janice is survived by her five children, Sharon (Michael) Trabbic, Shirley (Joseph) Schellentrager, Rick (Mieze) Mueller, Linda Schellentrager, and Anne Mueller (Jeffrey Schellentrager); eight grandchildren, Christopher (Jamie) Trabbic, Patrick Mueller, Gregory Trabbic, Mary Schellentrager, Laura Schellentrager, Eric Schellentrager, Leah Schellentrager, and Jay Schellentrager; three great-grandchildren, Vivian Donaldson, Benjamin Trabbic, and Jacob Trabbic; cousins Richard (Dick) Marcellus, Joan Herzog, and Dr. Joann Data; two nieces, Marilyn Landis and Heather (Graham) Mellet; seven great-nieces and great-nephews; and seven great-great nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dick Mueller; brother, Robert W. Boden; two nieces, Mary Elizabeth (Boden) Jones, and Carol (Boden) Justen; and a great-niece, Rachael Justen, and granddaughter-in-law, Tianna Mueller. The family would like to thank and commend the nursing teams at Genacross Lutheran Services Assisted Living at Wolf Creek and Hospice of Northwest Ohio for their compassionate, expert care. Family and friends may be received at Walker Funeral Home, 5155 W. Sylvania Avenue, Toledo, OH 43623 on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, from 3:00 to 8:00 pm. Services will be held at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 5240 Talmadge Road, Toledo, OH 43623, on Thursday, June 15, 2017, at 11:00 am. Internment will be at Ottawa Hills Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Janice Mueller’s honor to The Friends of the Bedford Branch Library, 8575 Jackman Rd., Temperance, MI 48182 or Adoption Network Cleveland, 4614 Prospect Ave., Suite 550, Cleveland, OH 44103.