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Arthur Stanley ‘Art’ Muller Jr.
Arthur Stanley “Art” Muller Jr. of Water Mill died on September 30, at his home in Water Mill. He was 101.
He was born in the Bronx to Arthur Stanley Muller and Olga Marie Nelson Muller on September 6, 1921. He grew up in Baldwin, and graduated from Baldwin High School before joining the U.S. Navy in 1942.
He trained as a motor mechanic, serving on P.T. Boats (Patrol Motor Torpedo Boats) in the Pacific during World War II, where he saw action in the Battle of Mindoro.
Muller spent many childhood vacations at Roses’ Camps on Mill Pond in Water Mill, where he met a local girl, Irene Corwith. They were married in April 1945, while Muller was home on leave from the Navy. Upon his return from his time in the service, he accepted the position of postmaster at the Water Mill Post Office, where he served as postmaster for 30 years, retiring in 1976.
In 1966, Muller received a citation of merit from the postal regional director for his response to Lady Bird Johnson’s Natural Beauty Program. Muller built flower boxes and added dividers to the post office window panes. He accepted the citation on behalf of the post office and the Water Mill community. Summarizing his career with the post office for a book published in 1996 by the Water Mill Museum, Muller shared, “There are many reasons why I enjoyed my 30 years of service as postmaster but I think the opportunity to know and be friends with virtually all the people of Water Mill was the most rewarding.”
Before being offered the position of postmaster, Muller planned to study photography on the G.I. Bill. Although not his ultimate profession, he continued photography as a hobby throughout his life.
Muller and his wife made their home on the Mill Pond in Water Mill, where they raised four children, Sandy, Jeanne, Mosey, and Ricky. The Muller home was a gathering place for extended family, neighbors, and friends. There were ice skating parties in the winter, complete with a bonfire, gallons of hot cocoa, hand-me-down skates in all sizes, and flood lights to extend skating into the evening. In the summer, there would be swimming, sailing, canoeing, and water skiing, and a bonfire in the evening. No matter the time of year, the gatherings would usually result in a sing-a-long around the bonfire, Muller on his homemade washtub bass, and his brother Charlie on tenor guitar, singing the medley of pop and jazz songs they sang as children in the 1930s.
Annual family ski trips were another favorite way for Muller’s extended family to spend time together. In retirement, Art and Irene spent time and welcomed many visitors to their rustic one-room-cabin in the foothills of the Green Mountains in New York’s Capital Region. There, they used snowmobiles to collect sap in the spring and make maple syrup, and did most everything the old way without electricity or running water.
Muller was a founding member of the Water Mill Community Club, and received the club’s Founders Award, in recognition of his long-standing service to the club and the community. He was a faithful member of the Basillica Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, where he volunteered in various roles, including as head money counter for many years, spending his Sunday and Monday mornings with a committee of volunteers to count and organize the Sunday offering. In 2014, he received the St. Agnes Medal of Service recognizing a parishioner who exemplifies the spirit of service and sacrifice toward their church.
Muller attended P.T. Boat reunions throughout the years and generously shared stories and memorabilia with the P.T. Boat Museum. USA Warrior Stories invited him to participate in their video interview project collecting and sharing veterans’ experiences, which can be viewed on their website at usawarriorstories.org/watch/arthur-muller.
The family wished to thank all who shared words of consolation and offered acts of kindness and caring. “God bless you for being a part of our lives,” family members said.
He is predeceased by his wife, Irene Corwith Muller; his brother Charles Muller; and his sisters Olga Rabbitt and Marion Tassi.
He is survived by his sister, Barbara Ann Muller Cancellieri, of Southampton; his daughter Sandra M. “Sandy” Raynor (Joe), of Southampton, and their children, Diem, Ellen, Karen, Jill, Emily and Tommy; daughter Jeanne M. White (Tom), of Southampton and their children Jamie, Meredith and Kristin; son Arthur C. “Mosey” Muller (Kristina), of Water Mill, and their son Caleb; son Richard A. “Ricky” Muller (Jeanne) of Springs and their son Leland; 11 great-grandchildren; and countless nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held at Brockett Funeral Home on Tuesday, October 11, from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Funeral services will be held at the Basillica Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary on Wednesday, October 12, at 10 a.m., with Father Mike Vetrano of Sacred Hearts officiating. Burial will follow at Water Mill Cemetery, next to the Village Green.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to: the Basillica Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, 168 Hill Street, Southampton, NY 11968; USA Warrior Stories, P.O. Box 2755, East Hampton, NY 11937; or Water Mill Museum, P.O. Box 63, Water Mill, NY 11976.
Staff Writer on Oct 3, 2022