Steven Leroy Muller

July 26, 1980 – Oct. 28, 2015

Steven Leroy Muller was born in the wee hours of the morning on July 26, 1980, in Buffalo, Wyo., to Monty Lee Muller and Kelly Jo DeWitt Muller. He joined older brother Jerry Lee, and they later welcomed younger brother John J.The family lived in Kaycee, Wyo., until May of 1983, when they moved into the Big Horn Basin in search of work. They lived first in Byron, then Lovell, and knew they were home when they moved to Cowley. His folks bought a house and all of them put down roots.Steve began school at Rocky Mountain in first grade and made many lifelong friends. He participated in many activities, both in the community and the school, including wrestling and baseball, but is best remembered for his high school career in football. He graduated in 1999 with a record of 38-1, three state championships, two-time all-state honors and three-time all-conference honors, and he was asked to play in the Shrine Bowl with four of his teammates and Coach Ben Smith leading the team. The North won that year.[caption id="attachment_10519" align="alignright" width="219"] Steven Leroy Muller[/caption]He was an avid sportsman, hunter and fisherman and did all of that with his family as often as possible...father, brothers, grandparents, uncles and aunts, nephew and, most especially, his wife and kids. He loved to fish and was able to take a trip to the West Coast in Oregon and do some deep sea fishing and crabbing, play in the ocean with the kids and take the kids to a huge amusement park in Idaho in mid-August.He also loved to cook and developed a recipe for ribs that was unrivaled! His mom tried to get him to write it down on several occasions, but he never quite got around to it, instead enjoying the keeping of the “secret.” He rediscovered his love of woodworking, too, when it was apparent that he wouldn’t be able to return to work. He designed and built several pieces for people and was working on an arm-wrestling table, another of his many interests. He was never one to be idle, keeping busy all the time.He loved the University of Wyoming’s football team and was thrilled to attend a game just before he was hospitalized in early September. He got to take his sons and nephew with him and share his love of the sport and the school with them. He was also a dedicated Dallas Cowboys fan and would spend hours talking football with family and buddies. He was part of a pool with family and friends and would try to make his picks each week, even while ill.Steve worked in a few places around town...as a dishwasher and cook’s helper at the Big Horn Restaurant, then briefly as a personal assistant at New Horizons Care Center. He moved on to Haskell Furniture and eventually landed a job with Wyo-Ben, where he excelled. It wasn’t long before his natural ability to lead people proved to be valuable to the company and they made him a shift foreman. He was working in this capacity when he became ill and his plan was to return to this as soon as he was able. He enjoyed his job and the people he worked with and missed it terribly.In 2002, he met a beautiful young woman from Lovell, Jennifer Aurora Lopez, and he knew after two dates that she was “the one” and hurried to his parents’ home to tell them. They were married on Aug. 29, 2002, in a civil ceremony. Two days later, Steve was baptized and confirmed as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From that point, he set out to achieve certain goals, the most important of which was to be sealed to his family for time and eternity.Jennifer brought a young son, Christopher Alex Lopez, to their union. Steve loved him deeply and later adopted him, the son of his heart. In June of 2003, his beautiful daughter, Macie Jade Muller, arrived, and a second beloved son, Brody Steven Muller, completed the family in September 2007. Steve realized his goal and the family was sealed on Sept. 26, 2014. All of them draw tremendous comfort from the knowledge that they will be reunited one day, never to be separated again.Over the last two years, he fought a very aggressive form of leukemia. As was his way, he gave it everything he had. He suffered through so many complications but always seemed to find the strength to rally, and he always found something to be grateful for, no matter how ill or how much pain he suffered. He will be missed very deeply by so many people, and it amazed him to see how many people truly cared about him and his family.Steve died Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015. Services were held on Monday, Nov. 2, 2015, at the Lovell LDS Stake Center in Lovell, with interment in the Lovell Cemetery.Steve is survived by his beautiful wife, Jennifer, and his children, Christopher Alex Lopez, Macie Jade Muller and Brody Steven Muller , of Lovell; his parents, Monty and Kelly Muller, of Cowley; brothers Jerry (Amy, Desirae and Jaden) of Cody and John (Wendy, Ciara) of Powell; his mother- and father-in-law, Dan and Judy Lopez of Lovell; his paternal grandfather, Lenard Muller of Frannie; numerous aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his grandmothers, Marta Elaine Hill Belisle and Beverly Jean Neisess Muller, his grandfather Steven Roger (Pat) DeWitt and step-grandmother, Marlene (Kay) Elfering DeWitt, and his aunt Connie Lynn Muller.In lieu of flowers, college savings accounts have been established for each of his three children, and checks can be made payable to Ohio Tuition Trust Authority and mailed to: Jennifer Muller, 639 Nevada Ave., Lovell, WY 82431.