John Michael “Mick” Mule, 64, a former manufacturing sales representative with a love for the Cubs and cooking, died Sunday, Nov. 23, in his Grayslake home of leukemia. Mr. Mule was raised in Waukegan and graduated from Waukegan Township High School in 1957. He received a degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech in Atlanta, said his wife, Julie. Mr. Mule met his wife in 1979 at a going-away party for a client at Western Electric in Montgomery. Mr. Mule would often visit her at her home, bringing with him a cooler full of ingredients for dinner. Among his favorite dishes were prime rib cooked in rock salt and a handed-down family recipe for spaghetti with meatballs and sausage. “He loved to cook because he loved to eat,” his wife said. The two married a year later and moved to Libertyville with three teenage children from Mr. Mule’s previous marriage. After retiring, Mr. Mule developed an interest in nature photography, his wife said. Julie Mule also credited her husband with helping her through her own illness. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1992 and again 1995 but is in remission. “He had a passion for making me better,” she said. “It was quite a mission. As hard as he tried, he was unable to do that for himself.” In addition to his wife, Mr. Mule is survived by two daughters, Lisa Black, a reporter with the Chicago Tribune, and Lynn Schmidt; a son, Mark; four brothers, Sam, Peter, Mark and Tony; and five grandchildren. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in Burnett-Dane Funeral Home, 120 W. Park Ave., Libertyville. Services will begin at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in the funeral home.
