John Albert Muhlenberg, 94, of LaGrange Park, formerly of Oak Park, died peacefully on Aug. 1, 2026 at Lightways Hospice in Joliet. He had lived with Parkinson’s for many years. Nonetheless his sudden decline shocked everyone. His wife of nearly 30 years, Elisabeth Muhlenberg, was by his side throughout and particularly during his hospice stay. Lightways was instrumental in making John’s last days comfortable and peaceful.
Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, he attended Wyomissing High school and served in the U.S. Army after the Korean War (1953-1955), spending much of those two years in Fort Hood, Texas. He deeply disliked the army, but made lifelong friends and achieved a kind of fame in the Signal Corps by slyly resisting authority enough to avoid getting promoted, but not too much to get court-martialed. His independence and rebellion against authority affected his entire life, including his educational career. He switched universities repeatedly, eventually receiving a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC).
With the support of his first wife, Alba Muhlenberg, John finally found his niche at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). He graduated as a mechanical engineer in the 1970s and accepted a job at the Assocation of American Railroads (AAR), testing railroad equipment. He loved his job and retired in 1995 when the AAR moved operations to Colorado.
He loved the outdoors, and relaxed, particularly after Alba’s death, by walking 5 miles after work. The greatest damage Parkinson’s inflicted on him was losing his ability to walk. He canoed wildwater races competitively with his cousin Ferd Thun, and spent years instructing sailing for Sail Chicago, passing the tough test to become a US Sailing Association instructor. With Parkinson’s, he discovered the wonderful Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing program.
Throughout his adult life he subscribed to the Chicago Symphony and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. For their first date he took his future wife Elisabeth to a performance of the Chicago Symphony. John and Alba did not have children. She died in 1989 of a chronic lung disease. John adored his two step-children Stephanie (Mathew) Hein and Martin (Terese) Broerman. He took special pleasure in all five grandchildren, Tim, Annelise and Erik Hein and Charlotte and Fritz Broerman.
John was the fourth child of the late Charles Muhlenberg and Wilhelmina Thun Muhlenberg. His siblings, Nick, Mimi, Philip and Jerry all predeceased him. He was especially close to his sister’s family, her three children, the late Christopher Cherney, Mary Cherney and Kaethe Cherney and the children, Tim Cherney and Charlotte Grillot.
John chose to donate his body to science through the Anatomical Gift Association. A memorial service is planned for a later date at Plymouth Place.
In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Foundation https://juddgoldmansailing.org/donate/ or Lightways Hospice https://lightways.org/make-a-donation.
Arrangements were handled by Inclusive Funeral Care, www.InclusiveFuneralCare.com.