Donald Charles Stahl

Donald Charles Stahl

Glen Ridge - Donald Charles Stahl passed away on the morning of Saturday, January 6. He will be remembered as a skilled orthopaedic surgeon, an essayist with a wry wit, a loyal friend, and a devoted father and grandfather.

He is survived by his children, Carolyn Price of Winchester, Va., Susan Phillips of Bonnyville, Alberta, Gretchen Whaley of Bloomingdale, NJ, Douglas Stahl of Shorewood, Wisc., and Christopher Wulff of Chesterfield, Va., along with grandchildren and one great-grandson; by brother John J. Stahl of Coral Springs, Fla.; and by former wife Linda (Heyman) Mainker of Springfield, NJ. He is predeceased by wife Amy (Babcock), sister Carol Garben, and his devoted golden retriever, Maggie.

Don was born in 1931 in Newark, NJ, the youngest of three children to John Jacob and Madeline (Eberhardt) Stahl. He was raised in Glen Ridge, NJ, and graduated from Princeton University in 1953 and from Yale School of Medicine in 1957. He served as a Flight Surgeon in the US Navy prior to completing his orthopaedic training at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Don was proud of his career as an orthopaedic surgeon in private practice in Morristown, NJ, where he was an early specialist in hip and knee replacement. He served as president of the medical staff at Morristown Memorial Hospital before his retirement in 1994.

In his retirement he devoted his considerable energy and talents to the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms in Parsippany, NJ, managing landscape projects and serving on the museum's board. After moving to Fox Point, Wisc., in 2008, Don shared those same talents and interests as a member of the North Shore Congregational Church. Don expressed his creativity by making furniture and other wooden projects, many of which are proudly displayed in the homes of his friends and family. He discovered another outlet in the past ten years with his essays covering family history, medicine, and the struggles and joys of life.

A memorial service will be held at the North Shore Congregational Church, 7330 N Santa Monica Blvd., Fox Point, Wis., on Friday, January 26, at 2 pm, family will greet friends following the service. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to North Shore Congregational Church in Fox Point, WI, or to the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms in Parsippany, NJ

(www.stickleymuseum.org/support/).