In many respects, Herbert Muehl’s most rewarding work wasn’t his 34 years at Prudential Insurance, but his involvement with his church and community. Mr. Muehl, 71, of Lake Zurich, formerly of Inverness and Chicago, died Sunday, March 28, in Northwest Community Hospital, Arlington Heights, three days after collapsing from a heart arrhythmia while on vacation with his wife in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Mr. Muehl was a founding member of Holy Family Catholic Parish in Inverness, and as its first director of finance was instrumental in helping to raise the $6 million needed to build the church, which was commissioned in 1988. Mr. Muehl also used his fundraising prowess to benefit the St. Joseph Home for the Elderly in Palatine, said Sister Mary Emilie. Mr. Muehl was a Republican committeeman in Chicago during the 1950s. He was also a former member of the Lake Zurich Police Pension Board. As a former president of the Lake Zurich Property Owners Association, he helped get $50,000 from the Lake Zurich Village Board in 1996 for a dredging project to reduce sediment in the lake. Mr. Muehl also was a board member of the Harper College Education Foundation from 1979 to 1988. In 1988 he received the Distinguished Service Award from Friends of Harper, a volunteer group he helped create. An Army veteran, Mr. Muehl graduated in 1958 from DePaul University, where he met his wife, Eleanore. He sold insurance for Prudential for two years, then became a division manager and general manager, retiring in 1992. In addition to his wife, Mr. Muehl is survived by two daughters, Julie Koewler and Denise Walsh; two sons, Herb Jr. and Kevin; five grandchildren; and two sisters, Audrey Hafer and Marilyn Sheehan. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday in Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home, 185 E. Northwest Highway, Palatine. Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. in Holy Family Church, 2515 W. Palatine Rd., Inverness.
