John Charles Muehlberger, Sr. passed away on February 20, 2026, surrounded by Joanie, his beloved wife of 58 years, and their five children, Chris, John Jr., Duffy, Jimmy, and Annie.
John was born November 7, 1941, in Kansas City, Missouri to Eleanor and Louis Muehlberger. Youngest sibling to Helen and Louis, John grew up in a working-class West Plaza neighborhood where he recalled taking the streetcar and sledding down Fairmount Street.
As an ambitious and industrious teenager, John was introduced to the world of golf as a caddy for Milburn Country Club, eventually rising to venerable Caddy Master. After graduating from Lillis High School, John tried his hand at sales, including encyclopedias and eventually for golf and tennis outfitter Izod Lacoste.
It was on the golf course where Jim Colbert, Sr. introduced his daughter, Joanie, and invited John to play a round. (Yes, Joanie beat him.) Smitten after a handful of dates, John proposed and the two were married in 1967.
Izod took John and his new bride to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1968 to forge a path in an open sales territory. John and Joanie had four boys in quick succession while John’s career flourished. The call of home was strong, however, and the family relocated back to Kansas City in 1975 when an Izod sales territory became available.
As fortune would have it, selling golf shirts with little alligators coincided with the preppy movement of the 1980s. Izod clothing was in high demand and so was John in country club pro shops all over the Midwest, thus securing a fruitful and stable 35-year career.
In 1985, 11 years after the last kid, “Princess” Anne was born. This was a shock to the family, most especially John and Joanie. The daughter John always wanted, Annie became a unifying force for the family.
In addition to his pride of an extended tightknit family, John’s story is not complete without discussing his lifelong devotion to the Catholic Church. John and Joanie worked tirelessly in support of St. Joseph parish in Shawnee, as members of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, and John’s work with the Serra Club. John and Joanie merged their passions for golf and the Church by running charity golf tournaments for Sister Servants of Mary, Catholic Charities, and Lakemary Center.
John is survived by his loving wife and their children, as well as daughters-in-law Katie and Natalie, grandchildren Andy (Courtney), Morgan (Michael), DJ, Mac, Jillian, Charlie, Landon, and Rose, and great-grandchildren Kennedy, Sydney, and Mallory.
Visitation will be at 10 a.m., Friday, February 27 at St. Joseph Parish in Shawnee followed by a 11 a.m. funeral. A celebration of life will be held at St. James Academy in Lenexa at 5:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Sister Servants of Mary at https://sisterservantsofmary.org/donate.