Mueller Electric Furniture & Mattress
Mueller Electric Furniture & Mattress has been a fixture on De Soto, Missouri Main Street for 95 years. Theo. “Slim” & Ruth Mueller founded the business back in 1927 selling appliances before most homes had plumbing or electricity and so they offered those services, too. Back in those days, refrigerators were still iceboxes, washers still tubs with ringers, & dryers were still clothes pins. Slim was a fix anything individual; he could take something, make it work, and service it.
In 1950, the Muellers hired a girl just out of high school to work the store. Mary Lee Doyen was valedictorian of her class at De Soto High. “I would walk home from the old high school building to my family’s house on North Main Street. Then, I would walk to work at the ice cream shop across town. One afternoon as I passed in front of Mueller Electric, Mr. Mueller stopped to ask if I would like to go to work in his store. I’ve been her ever since!” She kept the books and bought and sold merchandise, devoting her life to the business. At a healthy 88 years old, Mary Lee still stops in the store a few times a week.
In 1993, two of Mary Lee’s brothers, Gary Doyen & Charlie Doyen joined the team so she could ease into retirement. Mary Lee officially retired in 1998, followed by Gary’s and Charlie’s retirement in 2016. Two of Gary’s four daughters, Andrea Doyen-Patterson and Carrie Doyen Bone, are currently running the day-today operations. Andrea has been here for nearly thirty years and began working at the store at age 18 in 1993. Their dad, Gary, now a young 76, pops in a few times a day to visit or bring lunch to the crew.
As a small business, staying active in the local community and providing great customer service has always been at top of Mueller Electric’s list of priorities and has kept generations of families on their customer list throughout the years.