DR. MERLE EUGENE Stilwell

1932 - 2023

Dr. Merle Eugene Stilwell, 90 of Indiana, Pa., passed away on Sunday, June 11, 2023, at St. Andrew's Village, Indiana, Pa.
Born in 1932 in Mansfield to Albert and Gladys Mudge Stilwell, he graduated from Mansfield High School in 1950, where he was a three-year letter winner in basketball and baseball.
Offered a contract to play baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers organization, Merle opted instead to serve in the military. As an activated Pennsylvania National Guardsman, he served two years in the Medical Corps in Germany during the Korean Conflict, ultimately achieving the rank of Sergeant First Class.
He attended Mansfield State Teachers College from 1952 to 1956, lettering in baseball and football in each of four seasons and served as the Student Government president in 1955 and 1956. During his senior year he served as captain of the baseball team, was named the school's scholar-athlete, received the Kappa Delta Pi Senior Award for highest scholastic honors, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics, English, and History.
Mansfield was also where he met his wife, Eleanor Seely Stilwell. They married in 1955 and moved to Huntington Station, Long Island, N.Y. the following year. Merle began his professional career as a mathematics teacher at Walt Whitman High School in the South Huntington school district where he taught until 1965. During this period, he coached nine years of football and three years of baseball as well as earned his Master of Arts in Teaching degree in 1958 from Columbia University in New York City.
Merle and Eleanor moved to Ithaca, N.Y. in 1965, where he earned a PhD from Cornell University in both Mathematics and Education. In 1967 they moved to Indiana, Pa., where he served as a mathematics professor for 23 years at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and also supervised student teachers. He remained active in athletics while at IUP, serving as a football coach from 1977 to 1983 and as an academic advisor to football players until his retirement.
In addition, Merle served as a head coach for Junior Legion baseball teams from 1974 to 1980, twice leading the Indiana Lions to the state playoffs. He was an active member of Grace United Methodist Church, where he served on several teams and committees and with Eleanor sang in the Chancel Choir for over 50 years. He also served as the tenor for the Sprucemen Barbershop Quartet, entertaining countless audiences in and around Indiana County. He served as chairman of the Indiana County Red Cross Mass Care Program for 12 years and was a member of both the Indiana Lions Club and Indiana's Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1989. He worked tirelessly at the VFW Golf Course as well as on the conception and building of Grace Manor in Indiana.
Merle was a 1986 inductee into the Tioga County Sports Hall of Fame and a 2014 Special Honoree of the Indiana County Sports Hall of Fame.
His hobbies included golfing, woodworking, watching the Steelers and Pirates, and providing selfless service to others.
He had a litany of jokes that kept all in earshot in stitches. He also enjoyed the many dogs who were his and Eleanor's faithful companions.
His children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and friends across the country brought him great joy. In turn, the joy he brought to them will carry on forever.
Merle is survived by his son, Colonel Douglas Stilwell, USMC (Retired) and wife Deborah of Oakmont, Pa.; his daughter, Wendy Stilwell Boehme and husband Les of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; three grandchildren, Heather Stilwell, Brian Stilwell and wife Brianna, and Emily Stilwell Hays and husband Ryan, all of Pittsburgh; and three great-grandchildren, Haley Stilwell, Henry Hays, and Claire Stilwell. He is also survived by two brothers, Arthur Stilwell of Painted Post, N.Y. and Donald Stilwell of Millerton, Pa., as well as sister Ninita Jones of Millerton, Pa.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by sisters Lois Wilcox and Clarice Evans, as well as his wife, Eleanor.
Friends and family will be received on Thursday, June 29, 2023, from 6-8 p.m. at the Bowser-Minich Funeral Home, Indiana. A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Friday, June 30, 2023, at 11 a.m. in Grace Church, 712 Church Street, Indiana, with Pastor Bill Blair and Kathy Mihoerck officiating. Interment will be private.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Traditional Music Fund, Grace Church, 712 Church St., Indiana, PA 15701.
To send an online condolence to the family, please visit www.bowserminich.com.