Willard Fritz Mueller

Madison- Willard Fritz Mueller, age 91 of Madison died December 1, 2016. He was born January 23, 1925, in Ortonville Minnesota, the son of Fritz and Adele (Thormaehlen) Mueller. His beloved wife of 62 years, Shirley (Liesch), died December 8, 2010. Fritz is survived by three children, Keith, of Madison, Scott (Ann Pfotenhauer-Mueller), of Middleton, and Kay (David Emerson), of Fall River, and two grandchildren, Nicole and Christopher Mueller, of Denver Colorado. In 1940 Fritz moved from Wausau to Menomonie, Wisconsin, where he attended High School. He was elected president of his junior class and was a member of the school's stellar debate team that became state champions in 1942. In his junior year, at the age of 17, Fritz enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving until January 23, 1946, his 21st birthday. He served primarily with a Naval radar unit, Argus 21, as a Radar Technician 1st Class. Argus 21 directed Marine aircraft in the Asiatic Pacific battle areas. His airbase suffered one of the most destructive air raids of the Pacific war. After his Naval discharge, Fritz attended the University of Wisconsin, where he received BS and MS degrees. In 1955 Fritz received a Ph...[more]

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egree in Economics and Law from Vanderbilt University. He became a faculty member at the University of California at Davis and Berkeley (1954-1957) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1957-1960). During 1961-1969 Mueller served in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations in Washington, D.C., first as Chief Economist to Congressman Wright Patman, Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee of the Congress. From July 1961 until March 1968, Fritz served as Director of the Bureau of Economics and Chief Economist of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), where he gained a reputation as an aggressive enforcer of the antitrust laws. In April 1968 President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Mueller Executive Director of the President's Cabinet Committee on Price Stability, equivalent to an Assistant Secretary in a cabinet department, differing only as he reported to four Cabinet members and the President. In January 1969, Mueller returned to his position at the FTC. In October 1969, Fritz received an appointment at the University of Wisconsin as William F. Vilas Research Professor in the departments of Agricultural Economics, Economics, and Law, where he played a leading role in creating a 15-University consortium to research the competitive performance of various industries. For 14 Years Fritz served as the Chairman of the group's Executive Committee and together with his friend, Prof. Bruce Marion and their graduate students, conducted many important studies, often at the request of Congressional Committees. From 1960 to 1996, Fritz was invited to testify 28 times before Congressional Committees. For his scholarly achievements, Fritz was appointed a Fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association, which captured the essence of his economic philosophy when it said: "Friends and Adversaries agree that Mueller is unintimidated by special interests, unafraid of controversial issues, and dedicated to making the American economic system perform justly as well as economically." The Association also honored Fritz with awards for Professional Excellence in "Policy Contribution" in 1980, "Quality of Communication" in 1985, and "Quality of Research Discovery" in 1988. In 2007, Mueller was honored as one of the major 'European and American Pioneers of Industrial Organization," his field of specialization. Fritz started his own consulting firm (Argus Economics) in 1980. With help from his son Scott, daughter Kay and Frederick Geithman, Argus Economics represented clients for the next 15 years whose rights were infringed upon by companies violating Anti-trust laws. The only case Fritz lost was when a judge overturned the jury decision. Fritz was a founding member of the Madison chapter of "Veterans for Peace," was elected president of two economic associations, served on the board of editors of four economic journals, and authored or co-authored 16 books, two of which were translated to Japanese and republished in Japan. In 2005, Fritz published a memoir "My Growing-Up Years, in the Great Depression and World War II", and in 2009 he published "Fighting for Antitrust Policy: the Crucial 1960's", A study of his service in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. For the past eight years, Fritz has lived with Scott and Ann. He enjoyed reading the New York Times each morning and going out for lunch with Scott every day. Fritz particularly enjoyed eating at C's Restaurant and Bakery and Sofra's Family Bistro. He attended 2-3 movies a week and was a Badger Basketball fan, having season tickets since 1969. Fritz especially enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren Christopher and Nicole and visiting with his daughter Kay and son-in-law David. He will be missed by the family pets. A memorial service will be held to honor Fritz's life and work at the First Unitarian Church of Madison, 900 University Bayshore Drive, Madison, Wisconsin on Friday December 16, 2016. Visitation will be held from 3:30- 5:30 PM with services at 5:30 PM. Memorial contributions may be sent to the family for an establishment of a scholarship fund in Fritz's honor.