Obituary of Lois Mae Stoeckmann

Lois Mae Stoeckmann made her way to Heaven on the evening of Friday, August 21, 2020. She passed peacefully in her sleep at her home in Auburndale, Florida. Lois was a loving daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, and nurse that is already immensely missed. Being born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, led her to a life filled with love for the Green Bay Packers, Wisconsin Badgers, and oddly enough, the Chicago Cubs. She took great pleasure in continually learning and was even known to read the dictionary for fun. Hence her expansive vocabulary, very proper grammar, and ability to win every scrabble game. She obtained her degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she met her husband George Stoeckmann. Together they have three beautiful daughters; Kathryn (Katie), Marilyn and Ellen. With education being so important to her, she made sure that all her kids were able to read before they started kindergarten. It was a weekly ritual for her children to practice those skills by reading the front page of the Wall Street Journal to her every Wednesday. As a very talented seamstress, she handmade every Halloween costume her children ever wore until they stopped trick-or-treating. Lois and George owned a sewing machine sales and repair shop. As her children were finishing school in the late 1970s she won a summer study program to Rampart College in Colorado for an essay she wrote on the importance of freedom. She continued the family tradition, from generations before her, of gifting each child on their 12th birthday an Emily Post Etiquette book. To her, manners and knowing how to set a proper table were just as important as brushing one’s teeth. This tradition has stood the test of time and is still carried on by her family today. However, her method of disciplining children by threatening to sing to them has not carried on. Lois came from a long line of medical providers, so after devoting her time to raising her three children she set out to continue the legacy and become one herself. First graduating from Marion Community School of Practical Nursing, then obtaining her nursing degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. She served as an Intensive Care Nurse in Marion, Indiana and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Her children, Katie and Ellen, have also followed her footsteps into the medical profession. Lois enjoyed tasting all the delicious flavors life has to offer and very rarely passed on dessert, which may be why she made the best lemon birthday cakes on the planet. When her body was still able she’d start her day by swimming laps in the pool. She could often be found listening to politics at a relentlessly loud volume level, commenting back to them and anyone else in the room about how it should really be handled as she was very well versed in American history, U.S. government, and the biographies of our fore fathers and past presidents. She trusted Jesus as her Savior and she and her husband George followed Him in believers baptism on April 13, 1997, at Sunnycrest Baptist Church in Marion, Indiana. She later led others in their exploration of Christ through Bible Study classes. She often reminded others to be kind to one another, you never know what someone is going through. Lois loved making others stretch their mental capabilities by offering exercises in the form of brain teasers and riddles. In true Lois fashion, we’ll leave you with one of her favorite brain teasers and make you find the answer: What is an eight letter word that contains only one vowel? Left to cherish her memory are her children; Kati Mori, Marilyn (Michael) McCrary, Ellen (David) James, and grandchildren; Angela Bishop, Michael (Ilham) McCrary, Michelle (Mario) Gosselin, Jacob (April) Simmons, Joshua Simmons, Kristen (Noah) LeFavour, Misty (Dexter) Bean, Laura James (Will Wortman), Melissa (George) Gorham, Matthew (Courtney) McCrary, Kalee (Kevin) Arpin, Chelsea Mori, and 15 great-grand children. She was preceded in death by her husband, George Stoeckmann, parents Dr. Harry Otto Zurheide, and Beulah Marie (Paulsen) Zurheide, siblings, Dr. Harry John Otto Zurheide, and Janet (Zurheide) Peter.

A funeral was held on Thursday, August 27, 2020, at the Auburndale Community Church, 601 Stadium Road, Auburndale, FL. Visitation at 3:00, followed by a service at 4:00.