Trudy Stauffer

Stauffer , Trudy 4/20/1943 - 1/15/2020 Kalamazoo Trudy Stauffer passed away peacefully on January 15th, 2020 at Rose Arbor, a hospice center in Kalamazoo. She died from a rare disease called Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Due to the complications of the pandemic, her memorial service has been delayed. Her husband, Robert Stauffer, and her two children, Devin and Tema Stauffer, are grateful to the family members and friends who helped us cope with the challenges of her illness and our loss. Trudy was born on April 20th, 1943 in Klek, Banat, a small farming village in the former Yugoslavia. After their experiences of great duress and displacement as a result of WWII, her family immigrated to the United States, first arriving at Ellis Island in 1952 and settling in Chicago with the help of a German sponsor. The Wambach family included her father, Johann, her mother, Anna, and her three siblings, Anna, Adam, and Frieda. She began her higher education at Mundeline College, a Catholic Women's school in Chicago, and ultimately received a BA in Sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she met Robert Stauffer who was teaching several courses while completing his doctorate at the University of Chicago. Robert and Trudy married in June 1966 and moved to Hyde Park. During their last year in Chicago, Trudy worked as a social worker throughout inner city neighborhoods on the north and south sides of the city. In 1968, they moved to Chapel Hill, where Robert taught sociology at the University of North Carolina. Trudy took courses there while also teaching reading and writing at a predominantly African American school in a nearby town and forming a feminist group with friends and peers called Group 22. Robert and Trudy moved to Michigan in 1973, where Robert began a new position teaching sociology at Kalamazoo College. Trudy completed a master's degree in Education at Western Michigan University and taught reading and technical writing courses there, before starting a long-term position as an administrator in the Faculty Senate Office. Following Trudy's retirement from Western, she volunteered at St. Luke's Thrift Store and worked at Gazelle Sports in downtown Kalamazoo. One of her great passions was walking, and for years she and her close friend Phyllis Rappaport rose before dawn to take brisk walks through the neighborhood together. Trudy also loved taking long walks at the edge of Lake Michigan on family vacations and collecting rocks along the shore. She was a collector of beautiful things-not just rocks, but works of art, ceramic plates, and flowers from her garden. Trudy was also a voracious reader who belonged to a book group for over twenty years and kept records of every book they read. Perhaps what friends and family remember and cherish most about Trudy was her kindness, depth of compassion, and empathy for those in need. During the weeks following her death, many remembered her as a good listener and a true friend. We look forward to further honoring her life through a memorial gathering when it is safe to bring our community together.