Therese Mueller Papers

Dr. Therese Mueller was born to a physician, Franz Geuer, and Maria Muellers in 1905 in Cologne, Germany. In 1924 she began studying economics at the University of Cologne. When her father died in 1925, she had to stay in Cologne to finish her studies. In 1928 she graduated with the Diplom Volkswirte Prüfung, and in 1929 was promoted as Doctor Rerum Politicerum with an economics major and sociology minor. Her dissertation was titled "The Cooperation of Public and Private Welfare Organizations."

In 1930 she married Dr. Franz Mueller, who was at that time an assistant at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Cologne. Due to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi movement, in 1936 Dr. Franz Mueller left for the United States at the request of the University of St. Louis, Missouri. In 1937 Dr. Therese Mueller left for the United States with her three daughters, Mechthild Elizabeth (b. 1931), Hildegard Ursula (b. 1933), and Gertrud Brigitta (b. 1936).

In 1940 the family moved to St. Paul Minnesota after Dr. Franz Mueller was offered a teaching position at the College of St. Thomas. They had two more children, Reinhold Christofer (b. 1940) and Francis Laurence (b. 1948), in the United States.

In addition to being a wife and mother, Dr. Therese Mueller was often asked to write articles or give talks on topics of Christian homemaking and Christian family living. In 1944 she began teaching a course on economic principles in the College of St Catherine’s extension program. She continued teaching various classes in sociology in the summers or on Saturdays throughout the year. She also taught sociology part time at the College of St Thomas.

Dr. Therese Mueller served for several years on the archdiocesan speakers bureau, giving presentations on the liturgical seasons, and has served as a staff member of the archdiocesan ministry for engaged couples. In 1941 she delivered a paper entitled “The Christian Family and the Liturgy” at the second National Liturgical Week. In addition to lectures, she also authored many articles and three books: Family Life in Christ (1941), Our Children’s Year of Grace (1943), and The Christian Home and Art (1950). Most of her publications did not follow her academic discipline, but rather were an expression of her experiences as a wife and mother. In addition to being an educator and an author, she also sculpted religious figures using various media.

Dr. Therese J. Mueller died on January 5, 2002.