Edward Stoline

Ed Stoline, 82, of Jefferson,  passed away Dec. 24 at the Regency Park Care Center in Jefferson.

A celebration of Ed’s life will be held at 2 P.M. Saturday, January 4 at the Jefferson First United Methodist Church with Pastor Julia Poulson officiating. Musical selection, “On Eagle’s Wing’s” will be sung by soloist, Sheilah Pound and accompanied by organist, Monica McGregor. Burial will be in the Jefferson City Cemetery with Military Funeral Honors conducted by the Iowa National Guard.

Serving as honorary casket bearers are Bill Schaal, Dane Kious, Doug Tucker, Mike Stoline and Ron Juergens. Serving as casket bearers are Roger Stoline, Steve Chapman, Steve Smith, Jerry Long, Dan Olson, Les Fister and Steve Brown.

An Elks Memorial Service will be held Friday evening, January 3 at 6:30 P.M. at the Brown Funeral Home in Jefferson.
Benjamin Edward Stoline, son of Ben and Matilda (Gosar) Stoline, was born January 28, 1931 at his parent’s home near Jefferson.

Ed attended and graduated from the Jefferson High School in 1948. On November 8, 1951, Benjamin Stoline was united in marriage to Ruth Etta Peacock at the First Methodist Church in Jefferson.  They were the first couple to be married in the new church building. Two children were born to this union. Ed and Ruth lived their entire life in Jefferson.

While still in high school and misstating his age, Ed joined the Iowa National Guard. He served 4 years with the 168th Infantry Division and then 9 years with the Headquarters’ Detachment, Adjutant General’s office, of which 2 years were full time. He received an honorable discharge as a Master Sergeant in 1960. Ed started working for the Iowa D.O.T. in 1952 as a materials technician and retired in 1993.

Ed was a member of the Jefferson First United Methodist Church and helped on many committees including as chairman of the church trustees. He loved to play golf and served as president of the Greene Co. Golf & Country Club. In 1981, Ed started going to auctions and began collecting antique stoneware and other antiques.  He had over 164 pieces of stoneware at one time. In 2001, he decided that it was time for others to own them and sold them all.

In June of 1964, Ed joined the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks as a charter member of the Jefferson Elks Lodge #2306 and devoted much of his time and talents to its success. He served as a lodge officer for many years and served as Exalted Ruler in 1972. His great passion in the Elks was instructing and judging the rituals of the Order. In 1984, Ed was appointed as a committeeman for the Grand Lodge Ritualistic Committee, a position which he held for three years. He served as a Grand Lodge Ritual instructor for a five state area and took part in several Grand Lodge ritual contests. Traveling for the Grand Lodge as a committeeman was an honor and privilege to Ed and gave Ed and Ruth the opportunity to meet many wonderful people and visit many cities that they otherwise would have not have known and experienced. In 1991, Ed served as President of the Iowa Elks State Association.

Ruth, his wife of almost 60 years, passed away in May of 2011 and Ed continued to live in his home until August of 2012 when he became a resident of the Regency Park Care Center.
Ed is survived by his two children; Shelley and her husband, Jeff Kurka, of Florissant, Colorado and Shawn Stoline and his wife, Jean, of Woodland Park, Colorado and two grandchildren; Zachary and Whitney Kurka.

He was preceded in death by his parents, wife and two brothers, Paul and Melvin Stoline and their wives.