Dian Elizabeth Caroline Mueller, 62, of Burlington, was born to her late parents Robert Thomas Mueller and Dian Patricia Kendrick on February 22, 1960, in Washington, D.C., and died unexpectedly in her home on May 28, 2022.
She grew up in Manassas, Va., with her brothers before moving to Colchester. She attended Colchester High School where she met her first husband, Peter Thayer, and they had two children, Audrey and Karen. She later married James Beachler, and the family moved to Johnson, Vt. In 1990, they moved to Florida after her father’s cancer diagnosis. After his passing, they moved to New Mexico and then in 1997, Dian and Karen moved back to Vermont while James and Audrey stayed in New Mexico.
Dian advocated for justice and equality for all people. She was highly spiritual, with a fairy spirit as a high priestess, and was an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Tampa and in Burlington, where she founded Wiccan groups in the 1990s. She had a great interest in genealogy and loved to journal daily. She worked as an editor and writer for Toward Freedom and The Vermont Vanguard. She was also a supporter of the Vermont Abenaki community and a champion for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. She had a great interest in Celtic history, Judaism and Wicca. She was active in many social and political groups, including Bernie Sanders’ campaigns for president.
She is survived by life partners James Beachler and Greg Guma; brother Brian Mueller; daughters, Audrey (Thayer, Mueller) Hodge and Karen (Thayer, Mueller, Brockway) Hall; grandchildren, Ashley and Kayla Hodge, AJ Brockway and Scott Hall; and sons-in-law Chris Hodge and Dave Hall. She was predeceased by her brother Mark Mueller.
A memorial for friends will be held in September. Contact Robin at robinlloyd8@gmail.com.
This article appears in Jul 20-26, 2022.
My condolences to her friends and family I knew her very well at The UU society, she was a beautiful soul magical in so many ways and she really cared about so many different things. May rest in peace sincerely David call Burlington Vermont
Thank you so much David! We all love the UU Church and also attended the one in Florida when we lived there. Audrey- her daughter
What a shock! Reverend Firebearer will live in my heart forever. She was a spiritually powerful person with great passion and compassion. I am sorry for your loss. I had the good fortune to worship with Dian, At the First UU Society of Burlington, BUUC, many drumming circles, and the Sulis festivals at Kettle pond. I have an earring of Dian’s that I intend to leave at the community shrine at Laurelin in Bethel VT https://www.facebook.com/laurelin
Aho Dian. (W. Robinson former BUUC member.)