- Date Of Birth: September 1, 1932
- Date Of Death: December 8, 2015
- State: Connecticut
Maria Teresa (Mueller) Van Haren, 83, beloved wife of the late Donald L. Van Haren, died peacefully on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015 at her residence in Glastonbury. .
Maria was born in Graefelfing, Munich, Germany on September 1, 1932, the daughter of Josef and Therese Mueller. She was raised in Germany, where she met and married Don while he was serving in Germany with the US Air Force. She came to the United States in 1954, and was a longtime resident of South Plainfield, NJ. Maria loved music and dancing, and she and Don were a happy and graceful couple on the dance floor at the German Club in Clark, NJ. Maria moved to Glastonbury in 2009.
Maria loved her family and will be dearly missed by her three daughters, Lynn Van Haren of Naperville, IL, Donna Meier and her husband Will of Manchester, CT, and Lisa Petriello and her husband John of South Plainfield, NJ. Maria was the kind of Mom who would be right out there with her kids, playing in the snow, building snowmen, making giant leaf piles to jump in, playing in the pool, or joining the big volleyball games at the South Plainfield Community Pool. She never missed a concert or performance if her kids were in it, not even the time when she broke her toe the day of the concert!
Maria adored her seven grandchildren, Bryan, Elizabeth, and John Kimbrell, Jonathan and Luke Meier, and Stephen and Jason Petriello. Her love of life could be seen when she played with them, whether it was getting down on the floor to play when they were little or joining in the games of wiffle ball and street hockey when they got older. She truly delighted in their accomplishments and was so proud of each of them.
