DEACON RICHARD MUETING

Obituary

Deacon Richard Mueting valued faith, family, Catholic education

Deacon Richard Mueting – who served Sacred Heart and St. Mary parishes in Norfolk for more than 20 years – valued faith, family and Catholic education.

His life reflected those values, his son, Timothy Mueting, said.

Deacon Mueting died June 28 at Mount Carmel Home in Kearney. He was 83.

A memorial Mass was offered July 7 at St. James Church in Kearney, with inurnment following at Kearney Cemetery.

Deacon Mueting, who was ordained in 1979, became one of the first permanent deacons to serve in rural areas of the archdiocese. He learned Spanish so he could serve in Hispanic ministry and deliver homilies fluently.

He instructed parents, including his son, during parish baptism classes and baptized most of his 13 grandchildren.

Deacon Mueting was a founding member of the Norfolk Catholic Schools Foundation, serving on the organization’s board of directors for 28 years.

He “really loved the Church,” said Timothy Mueting, a member of St. Bernard Parish in Omaha, a religion teacher at Roncalli Catholic High School in Omaha and a theology instructor at Creighton University.

“He loved God,” his son said. “He was willing to do what was necessary to be a good deacon.”

Deacon Mueting was committed to his family. He helped raise his younger siblings after their father died, Timothy Mueting said. In addition to raising their own six children, Deacon Mueting and his wife, Patricia, took in foster children.

Deacon Mueting was a Marine reservist from 1956 to 1961.

He graduated with honors from Creighton University in Omaha in 1960, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He graduated first in his 1962 law school class at Creighton.

Immediately after graduating from law school he served as Madison County attorney. He had been a write-in candidate, and served in the post until 1966. He then became a legislative aide to the late U.S. Sen. Roman Hruska and was a minority counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee until 1968.

After moving back to his native Norfolk, he went into private practice.

Deacon Mueting was a Knight of Columbus in Sacred Heart Council No. 1793 and the Msgr. Robert Burns Assembly No. 606, rising to a fourth-degree knight.

The Muetings moved out of the archdiocese about 20 years ago, after Deacon Mueting retired from his law practice. They lived in Lexington then Kearney.

Deacon Mueting was preceded in death by his parents, Raymond and Mary (Leise) Mueting, a brother, sister and two brothers-in-law. 

Survivors include his wife; children Timothy (Patricia), Denise Falcon, Cynthia Volk, Steven (Angela), Angela Sundleaf (Timothy) and Paul (Mandy); sisters Mary Kelley (Don), Patricia Neumann (the late Denis Neumann) and Ann Mueting (Brian Stanton); brothers Donald (Jean), Robert (Tanis) and Joseph (Karen); sister-in-law Lynn Matson (the late Paul Matson); 13 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; nieces; nephews; and other relatives.

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