Kathleen Stahl Obituary

Funeral Announcement

Kathleen C Stahl (née Conroy), 92, of Warren, passed away after a short illness.

Kathleen was a long time teachers aid at ALT School in Warren, where she saw hundreds of local children grow up. She was the secretary for the Warren Senior Citizens for many years, where she was known for beginning each meeting with a good joke. Kathleen's greatest love was for her 9 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. She could often be seen at sporting events, dances, and musical performances by her grandchildren. A voracious reader, she could plow through a novel in mere hours.

Kathleen is survived by her husband of 70 years, William, son William Stahl Jr., and his wife Bonnie, of Warren, daughter Maureen DeBellis of Bethlehem, PA, and son Andrew Stahl and his wife Carol of Ocean Grove, NJ. As well as her 9 grandchildren, 4 great grandchildren, and one on the way.

A visitation will be held on Monday, February 2, 2026, from 4 pm to 7 pm at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Blvd. Watchung, NJ 07069. A graveside service will take place on Tuesday at 11 am at Holy Cross Cemetery Mausoleum on 145 Mt. Airy Rd. Basking Ridge, NJ. To view Kathleen's services, please click here for the live stream.

In place of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Kathleen's loving memory to the Blessed Sacrament RC Church, Martinsville, NJ.

Eulogy

For those who knew our mom, you know she was soft spoken and kind, Contemplative and thoughtful, and possessed tremendous emotional intelligence. She was intuitive Not the slightest bit impulsive. She thought things through.

Born in Irvington, NJ, she loved to read, she loved musicals, her friends, and especially her sister, Mary.

She was smart. She received a full scholarship to Mount St. Dominicks. Like her mother, she was a tremendous storyteller. She wrote poetry, like her father.

Her Catholic faith ran deep. She prayed the rosary, sought the intercession of the saints (particularly St. Jude for impossible causes like me), was a devoted spouse and grandmother,

My first roadie, who routinely carted me and my drums to band practice, and could make a mean apple pie!

But beneath this tender exterior was an incredibly strong woman. Mom had a will of steel. When we entered room 226A of the ICU, we saw the tubes, the PICC line, and the blood pressure cuff. Her eyes were closed, but she was awake. She was quiet, but she was visibly agitated. On her hands were two weighted security mitts, designed to prevent patients from removing all the things I just mentioned. Apparently mom was a bit feisty and not very compliant, but she was driven. While we tried to keep the mitts in place, Mom grew increasingly irritated. She tried to speak, but labored to generate Anything more than a few visceral noises. The more she tried to free herself, and we said, "No," The more these strained attempts to speak morphed into words, to full names and explicit demands.

"Billy, Maureen, Carol! C'mon, hurry. Enough already"

She tried to lift up her arms, struggling against the mitts, the tubes, the blankets.

"Pull C'mon, hurry up, Pull."

Her arms outstretched, we all looked at each other without speaking, but all thought the same thing: It's happening. She's speaking to Jesus.

But after an hour of this, we realized this wasn't the impassioned plea to the eternal. Rather, mom was ordering us to remove the tubes, monitors, etc., Or she was gonna break out the wooden spoon, or worse, punch us all right in the face.

I'd never seen such ferocity in my mother, Determination! Such an intense emotional state!

Except once

When, at the age of 16, I decided to drink 12 beers at a friend's house and subsequently throw up in the front seat of my parents Brand new Buick Skylark. But mom's faith-based, seek first to understand; judge not, lest ye be judged. Nature kicked in, as it always did: Pray for patience and forgive those who trespass against us.

What we witnessed in the ICU was the most poignant example and culmination of her steely will and thoughtful consideration. Her swan song. My heart tells me this.

She knew what she wanted, and I'm confident the course she set for this final stage was well considered; between her, her husband of almost 71 years, and her God. She wanted to enter the next phase on her own terms. And she was adamant about it. We, of course, acquiesced. The tubes were removed, Comfort care initiated, and almost instantly, Mom looked peaceful.

The way, I'm sure most of you remember: Quiet, contemplative, Angelic.

They say lions don't need to roar. And if they do You'd better run! At least once in our lives We all ran from mom, a lioness herself. She was the consummate disciplinarian. More importantly,

We ran TO her more times than I'm sure any of us can count. For comfort, Guidance, and advice. For a shoulder to cry on. And a sounding board for whatever.

Thank you, mom, for modeling Selfless love; Humility and grace; For beauty; For always lending an ear; For accepting, yet gently redirecting, our questionable decisions; For being you.

We love you.

You will be missed,

But with us always!