Marlin Mardell Mueller, Sr.

of West Linn, Oregon, passed away April 1st, 2016 at West Hills
Health and Rehabilitation Center in Portland, Oregon. Marlin
was born at the family home in Carus, Oregon, the eighth child of
Louis and Florence Mueller (nee Kleinsmith) in late December 1931
or early January 1932. A birth date of January 3, 1932 was eventually
settled upon. Marlin shared the initials M.M.M. with 9 siblings and
a half-sister.
A member of a hardworking farming family, Marlin went to work
at an early age, providing labor that supported and improved the
family farms. As a young man, he worked in the woods above
Molalla, Oregon and eventually went on to his own farming
enterprises. Enlisting in the U.S. Air Force in 1955, he served at
posts in the Southern U.S., Germany and New England. It was while
stationed near St. Johnsbury, Vermont that he met his future wife,
Flora Holt, and they were married in 1958. Five children followed
over the next twenty years: Sherri (1959) Marlin Jr. (1961) Cynthia
(1962) Daniel (1970) and Jennifer (1979).
After his discharge from the Air Force in 1961, Marlin returned to
Oregon and farming, eventually taking a job with Publisher's
Paper (Later Smurfit Newsprint Co.) in Oregon City, retiring from
the mill's electrical department in 1986. After retirement he went
back to farming the family land for the next two decades. Marlin
was mechanically adept, and a constant doer of things. For years
he enjoyed the Woodburn auction as a social event as much as a
sale. In early 2014 he was diagnosed with two types of cancer, and
the worst was expected; however, after receiving novel treatment
coordinated by OHSU, he continued living a normal life until
recently.
Marlin is survived by his wife, five children, nine grandchildren,
and many great grandchildren. Further survivors include a
brother and three sisters living in Oregon and Washington. In
accordance with his wishes, no service will be held. Marlin's ashes
will be scattered in his woods on the family farm, so he may
return to the land that wrought and sustained him, and all of
the generations before him.