Walter Leroy Muellner

Funeral Mass for Walter Leroy Muellner, 78, of Rush City, will be 11 AM Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Pine City with Fr. Thomas Galarneault as celebrant. Visitation will be Monday, February 23 from 4-6 PM, with recitation of the rosary at 5:30 PM at Swanson Funeral Chapel in Pine City. Visitation will continue for one hour prior to the Mass at the church on Tuesday. Burial with military honors will be provided by the Minnesota Army National Guard, Grothe-Jacobson VFW Post #6692 and the Rush City American Legion Post #93 will take place in Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Pine City.

Walter died Thursday, February 12, 2026 at Timber Pines Independent Living in Pine City.

He was born November 7, 1947 in Rush City to Frank and Angela (Hoppe) Muellner. Walter attended St. Mary’s Elementary in Pine City and graduated from Rush City High School in 1966. He began working at Atscott in Pine City and was drafted into the US Army in 1967, serving in Vietnam.

Following his military service, he worked at McNally and attended Brown Institute for Electronics and took additional classes at Dunwoody Institute. In 1972 he began working for Western Union as an equipment installer and commuted to the Cities until 1984. His passion was farming. He farmed with his brothers and purchased his parent’s farm in 1996. There he raised cattle for a few years but mainly farmed crops. Health issues caused him to move to Pine City two years ago, but he was still proud of being able to own his farm until the time of his death.

Walter was a devout member of Immaculate Conception parish, and daily rosary and prayers were important to him. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus. Some of his hobbies included snowmobiling and taking Sunday afternoon motorcycle rides on his Kawasaki 900. He enjoyed reading Popular Mechanics and science magazines and, in later years, watching television shows that expanded his horizons. He was a life-long learner and loved to discuss lots of topics.

Survivors include his siblings: Annabel Tollefson of Pine City, Bernice Ulik of West St. Paul, Mark (Christine) Muellner of Rush City and Lynette (Robert) Downing of Pine City; nieces and nephews: Mitchell (Kris) Tollefson, Mary (Ray) Stafford, Ronald Tollefson, Kevin Tollefson, Cheryl Ulik, Cynthia (Peter) Kaczanowski, Theresa Muellner, Greg (Kim) Muellner, Heidi Muellner, Robert Muellner, Colin (Amber) Downing and Katie Downing; several great nieces and great nephews; sister-in-law, Patricia Muellner of Rush City.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Angela and his brother, Richard.

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to: Funeral and Cremation Service of Pine City, Swanson Chapel.
www.FuneralAndCremationService.com