Jeffrey Mueller’s favorite saying was, "It’s not just the message, it’s the messenger," and as a reformed heroin addict, he spent much of his life delivering a profound message.

Mueller died in Honolulu on Dec. 19 of natural causes. He was 57.

He worked with Hawaii-born independent filmmaker Edgy Lee on two methamphetamine documentaries, "Ice, Hawaii’s Crystal Meth Epidemic" and "Life or Meth — Hawaii’s Youth," aired in 2003 and 2004, respectively.

"People always assumed it was my work, but the work was collaborative." Lee said. "I could never have made a film like (those) without him; (he) made it extraordinarily more effective."

Mueller, a native of Greeley, Colo., became a heroin addict after taking a hit from a friend when he was 18 years old, Lee said. He moved to Hawaii a year later, in 1973, and spent most of his 20s and early 30s going in and out of prison.

"Jeff was responsible for securing all the most gripping interviews with addicts on the street, from the teacher in Maui to the attorney on downtown Bishop Street," Lee said. "They understood what (he) was trying to do — to encourage other people, to make sure people knew they were not alone."

When Mueller kicked his habit and left jail, he began performing healing rituals in hospitals with a Tibetan lama to comfort parents and their young children who had terminal cancer, Lee said.

Lee said he taught nurses at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children ways to relieve suffering for babies being weaned from painkillers such as morphine because he knew what withdrawal felt like. Parents began requesting him, Lee said. But he was asked to leave his volunteer position when the hospital found out he was a convicted felon.

"The insight that he had could only have come from someone who was an addict," Lee said.

Mueller also counseled teens in juvenile detention, showing them his scars and talking with them in a way that made them open up to him, Lee said. He worked closely with firefighters and longshoremen, too.

Mueller is survived by son Jeffrey and sister Lisa. A celebration of life will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Chart House in Waikiki.