Stephanie Ann Stahl passed August 5, 2021 at AdventHealth Medical Center, with family present.
She was born in Kansas City, Missouri on September 25, 1943 to Stephen and Helen Werkowitch. She grew up in a Shawnee, KS home built by her grandparents and attended St. Joseph Grade School, graduating from St. Joseph High School.
She became a licensed cosmetologist and styled hair for well over fifty years, first in Roeland Park, then in Shawnee.
On April 23, 1966 she married Thomas Morgan Stahl, the one love of her life. Even though they separated in 1975, they maintained a healthy and loving relationship for the rest of their lives.
There were four things she truly loved: family, friends, felines, and films. From the late 1970s onward, she lived with, helped, or was helped by members of her family. She lived with her sister Jeanne for a few years, then a few years later lived with her cousin D’Ann Hauser before moving back into her family home to help her parents out for the last decade or so of their lives.
A group of friends once known as “The Dirty Dozen” were her “ride or die” crew, and they had adventures both in town and on the road, taking many trips together over the years.
She also had a way with cats, and usually had one or two living with her for most of her life. They always would come around for treats, and she loved to give them out.
In 1988 she was diagnosed with, and beat, breast cancer. In 1989, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, but that didn’t slow her down. She continued working for another 25 years after that diagnosis.
After the passing of her parents, D’Ann moved into Stephanie’s family home to help take care of her as the MS advanced. They lived together in Shawnee until moving into D’Ann’s family home in Overland Park in 2019 after her father passed. A year later, after her health began to decline to a point that D’Ann could no longer care for her, Stephanie moved back into her family home in January 2020 with her son and daughter-in-law who cared for her from then on.
All her life, she loved the cinema: going to movies in her youth, taking her son and his friends to them, and eventually her grandchildren. One of her last dreams she had was of having taken the grandkids to the movies. It was a life-long passion that was never complete without extra-buttered popcorn, a Coke with lots of ice, and some smuggled-in Dots, Good & Plenty, or Jujy-Fruits. Even when she got to the point where she couldn’t get out to the cinema, movies were constantly playing on her television. She was an expert on golden- and silver-age Hollywood trivia, as well as some of the back-story and gossip of the era. Speaking of television, her favorite show by far was Perry Mason, and she watched it daily.
A special nod must be given to Monika Hickmon, a caregiver who started helping out in April of this year. She wasn’t just a caregiver. She became a true friend to Stephanie. They would talk for hours together about movies, current events, and deciding what to watch next, with lots of joking and laughter. Monika made Stephanie’s last few months a treasure: a true joy.
She is survived by a sister, Jeanne Worden (Shawnee), a brother, Michael Werkowitch (Rantoul), a son and his wife, Mark Stahl and Isha Martin (Shawnee), grandsons Morgan Stahl (Plano) and Mason Stahl (Chicago), granddaughter Samantha Stueder (Claflin), and great-grandchildren Emma and Noah (Claflin).
We would like to thank Yavonne and Glenda of Sunshine Home Health Care for helping with in-home care. We would also like to thank Adriana and Jazlynn from ComFor Care for their services as well.
Services will be Saturday August 21, 2021 at Amos Family Funeral Home 10901 Johnson Drive in Shawnee, Kansas. The Visitation begins at 2:00pm and will include a Rosary. The Funeral Service will follow at 3:00pm.
Events
Memorial Service
Start Date: August 21, 2021, 3:00 pm
End Date: August 21, 2021, 4:00 pm
Amos Family Funeral Home
10901 Johnson Dr.
Shawnee, KS 66203
Phone: 913-631-5566
Rosary
Start Date: August 21, 2021, 2:00 pm
End Date: August 21, 2021, 2:15 pm
Amos Family Funeral Home
10901 Johnson Dr.
Shawnee, KS 66203
Phone: 913-631-5566
Visitation
Start Date: August 21, 2021, 2:00 pm
End Date: August 21, 2021, 3:00 pm
Amos Family Funeral Home
10901 Johnson Dr.
Shawnee, KS 66203
Phone: 913-631-5566
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