Mary Angela Wells Stabler

Mary Angela Wells Stabler of New York, NY, known as Angela to friends and family, died on December 23rd 2024 after a courageous battle with cancer. Angela was born on February 17, 1953 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She grew up in Garrison, NY, after spending 2 years of her early childhood in Germany. She was a proud alumna of St. Timothy's School in Stevenson, Maryland where she attended high school. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in Latin American Studies as member of one of the first fully co-ed classes of Quakers.

Angela's early career included working with HAIS to support Jewish Russian refugees as they resettled in the United States and time as a Spanish translator/interpreter. The majority of her career was as an in-house paralegal for firms including Interpublic Group of Companies and King Features Syndicate, a division of Hearst, where she developed a great fondness for Betty Boop and Popeye.

Angela's creativity knew no bounds, and her appreciation for hand crafted items was unmatched. Her crafting repertoire was wide and included knitting, crocheting, beading, jewelry making, sewing, ceramics and more. If there was an opportunity to learn how to make something, she not only learned but became highly proficient. When you complimented her scarf or jewelry, not only would she tell you that she made it, but she would then offer it to you, saying that she could easily make another one.

Angela was a generous, loving and feisty character. She was curious about many topics, she engaged fearlessly and at times, ruffled feathers without apology. Her friends were many – in her final weeks, she was surrounded by people from throughout her life with whom she maintained deep relationships. Whether it was frequenting craft fairs together, an annual Chinatown pilgrimage for soft shell crab, or just enjoying a good (dairy free) meal together, her friends were her tribe who loved her as much as she loved them.

Angela is preceded in death by her parents, Warwick Brooke Stabler and Caroline Fontaine Fahnestock Stabler, as well as her brother John Brooke Stabler. She is survived by her sisters Elizabeth Fontaine Stabler and Alexandra Maury Stabler, her niece Caroline Schaeffer Lewis and her husband Scott Lewis and nephew Sam Schaeffer and his wife Meghan Sutherland and great nieces and nephews Ari and Margot Lewis and Jacob and Althea Schaeffer. She took immense joy in indulging her nieces and nephews and their families.

A memorial service will be held at Walter B. Cooke Funeral Home, 352 E 87th St, New York, NY 10128 on Sunday, February 16th at 11am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the New York Public Library in Angela's memory.

Angela's life was defined by creativity, generosity, and fearless individuality. May her memory bring comfort to all who knew and loved her.