Virgie Mueller is our December spotlight for the month which is only fitting as she celebrates a very special birthday on December 25th, Christmas day! She was born in Cordell, Oklahoma and was the fourth of five children. Virgie and her siblings lived on the family farm and helped their parents farm everything from cattle to grain to cotton. In the last three years of her school Virgie transferred to a Christian high school that was one hundred miles away from her hometown in Meno, Oklahoma which is where she met her husband Russell. Virgie and Russell dated for two years. After graduating Virgie went back to Russell’s hometown of Enid, Oklahoma to study nursing while he went away to school as well. Even though they were physically apart from each other their love lasted and stayed strong. The two got married on June 7th, 1959 just before Virgie graduated and became an RN. Together, they have celebrated sixty years of marriage! During this busy time in her life Virgie found moments to do what she loved and sewed her own wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses. After getting married, the next January Russell and Virgie moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa so Russell could continue attending Bible College. While in Council Bluffs they had their first child, a little boy born in August 1960. Her family of three then moved as Russell got his first Missionary assignment at a Cree Village in James Bay Quebec. While living in the village Russell and Virgie had their second child, another boy born August 1963. Virgie gave birth to her baby boy one hundred and sixty miles away from the nearest hospital. Three years later in 1966, Virgie had her third child, a little girl born at the hospital in October. Their family was then transferred to communities in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta where they helped establish a Bible school and it wasn’t until this time that Virgie started practicing Nursing again. Virgie became pregnant once again with a fourth child however, her little baby was born premature and sadly passed away shortly after birth.
After thirty years Russel resigned from the Mission and joined the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Throughout this period in her life Virgie also wrote a book titled a Southern Belle Goes North accounting their life adventures. A copy of this book is in the RiverBend Prince George library for residents to access.
The Mueller family then moved to Yellowknife, North West Territories which is when
Virgie retired from Nursing as she fell ill. Eventually Virgie recovered from her illness and the family then moved back to Lac La Biche, Alberta where they stayed for ten years. After ten years they moved to Spruce Grove and stayed there for another ten years before moving to RiverBend to be closer to their family. Russell and Virgie love being so close to their two sons and wish they lived a little closer to their daughter who now lives in Texas. In total Russell and Virgie have eight grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren with one more on the way in January! Virgie spent her life caring for her family and others and has a multitude of stories to tell that we couldn’t possibly fit into our Spotlight. If you are interested in reading about Virgie and her family, we highly recommend sitting down to enjoy a Southern Belle goes North!