Dr. Helmuth A. "Bud" Stahlecker Jr.

WOODSTOCK – Dr. Helmuth "Bud" A. Stahlecker Jr., MD, 82, of Woodstock, passed away Thursday, March 24, 2011, at his home surrounded by his loving family.
He was a beloved physician in the Woodstock community and was involved in many aspects of the community since 1958.
He was born Nov. 12, 1928, in the parsonage of St. Paul's Church in Williamsburg, Iowa, the eldest son of Helmuth Sr. and Esther Stahlecker. Esther's father was the pastor of the church.
As a young boy, he spent many summers with relatives in this rural part of Iowa after the family moved to Chicago, where his parents were Lutheran school teachers. In 1934, a second son, Robert, was born to Esther and Helmuth. He and his brother were very close.
As a young man, he excelled in school, studied classical piano, was an active Boy Scout achieving Eagle status, was active in the church, and participated in school sports, including football.
He attended Northwestern University in Evanston, obtaining a bachelor's degree in 1949 and a master's degree in 1950.
While a student at the Chicago Medical School, he met his future wife, Vera Plesko. She was practicing as an RN at Walther Memorial Hospital when they met (he was hospitalized as a patient with a case of mononucleosis.) They married in 1953. Their first daughter, Karen, was born in 1954.
He did his residency at Cook County Hospital in 1954-55, and received his medical degree in 1955.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1956 after graduation, attended basic training in San Antonio, where his first son, Helmuth III (Sandy), was born in 1957. The family moved to Germany, where they were stationed in Wurzburg.
In the service, he was assigned to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 10th Field Hospital from 1956-58. Their second daughter, Connie, was born in Germany in 1958.
When not on duty, the family packed some camping gear and took tours of different areas of Europe, enjoying Germany, France and Italy.
The growing family returned to the U.S. in 1958 and moved to Woodstock, where he assumed the medical practice of retiring physician Dr. Wittenberg. Two more daughters, Lisa (1960) and Ruth (1963) were born.
He opened the first medical clinic in Woodstock, Woodstock Medical Center, built on Jackson Street with Dr. Eugene Stegmaier, DDS, in 1962. About the same time, he purchased a farm, now known as WillOaks Farm, on Kishwaukee Valley Road, and the family built a home on this property, and Timothy, his second son, was born in 1966. The six kids and many pets and animals all called this home for many years.
He had a large family practice including pediatrics, minor surgery, and a huge obstetrics practice and delivered countless babies during these years. He was a staff physician at Woodstock Memorial Hospital, serving as chief of the medical staff in 1967. He served as a house doctor at Sunset Manor for many years and as the football team doctor for Marian Central High School.
The Lion's Club was important to him as a service organization, and he served as a director for a time. Outside of practicing medicine, he had many interests. He was a world traveler with his wife when time permitted, and he took the family on long camping trips during summers. Passionate about vegetable gardening, he enjoyed making pickles, wine, canning vegetables and other joys of a farming lifestyle. Hunting and fishing were important activities, including regular fishing trips to Canada and local bird hunting. He also loved photography, especially taking movies and making videotapes of his many travels and family activities.
He retired from active medical practice in 1983 and began a second career building and developing a lovely private campground on the family farm. WillOaks Campground is more than 30 years old and still going strong, as it evolved from his lifelong love of camping and outdoor living. He also began to spend winters in Arizona to escape the cold Midwestern winters.
He is survived by five of his children, Karen Stahlecker, Sandy Stahlecker, Lisa Kubiak, Ruth Rish and Tim Stahlecker; and 10 grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his daughter, Connie; his wife, Vera; his father, Helmuth Stahlecker Sr.; his brother, Robert Stahlecker; and his mother, Esther Stahlecker.
The visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, at Schneider-Leucht-Merwin and Cooney Funeral Home in Woodstock. Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 31, at Grace Lutheran Church.
Memorial contributions may be made to support medical research including the Alzheimer's Association, American Heart Association and Hospice of Northeastern Illinois.
For information, call the funeral home at 815-338-1710.