Walli Loops Stevens

10/16/1922 - 01/01/2026

Walli Loops Stevens, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully at home in University Park, MD, on January 1, 2026, in the presence of family. Born October 16, 1922, in the Free City of Danzig, Walli emigrated to the United States at the age of six, upon the death of her mother, Francziska Struzinsky, to be adopted by her maternal aunt, Martha Loops, and her husband, Friederich Wilhelm Loops. Walli graduated from Evander Childs High School in The Bronx, New York, and attended the prestigious Katherine Gibbs School upon the recommendation of Margaret Sanger, a family friend. Her first job was as a Secretary at the Wall Street firm Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Beane. In September 5, 1943, Walli married Merrill Arthur Stevens, whom she had met while they worked at a summer camp in the Hamptons, she in the dining hall and he as horseback riding instructor. Their honeymoon was a train trip to Fort Sill, OK, where Merrill entered military service. After serving in the Allied Occupation force in Bavaria, Merrill and Walli moved to Sewanee, TN, where Merrill entered the Episcopal Seminary and Walli became a mother and clergy wife. After serving as Episcopal Chaplain at Auburn University in Alabama, the Rev. Merrill Stevens became Chsplain at the University of Maryland, College Park. After her husband's untimely death in 1964, Walli supported her family as Office Manager and Executive Secretary to the Directors of the Institute for Physical Science and Technology at UMD. After retirement, she returned to Sewanee and served as a Dormitory Matron at the University of the South.
Walli was pre-deceased by her son Timothy. She is survived by her children Richard, Michael, Christel, and Leigh, grandchildren Lisa, Noopur, Ajax, Keeley and Nabeen, and great-grandchildren Callista and Bodhi.
A funeral service will be held on January 17 at 1 p.m. at Andrew's Episcopal Church in College Park, MD, followed by interment in the adjacent Columbarium. May light perpetual shine upon her.