Stanley A. Stalter

Stanley A. Stalter, long-time Topeka elementary school principal and active volunteer for many community services, died September 10 at Brewster Place Health Center. He was 93.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. September 14 at First Christian Church, 1880 Gage Blvd., in Topeka. Inurnment will follow at Delavan Cemetery, Delavan, Kans.

The son of Christian and Grace Atwood Stalter, Mr. Stalter was born July 18, 1912, on a farm north of Delavan. He married his childhood sweetheart, Ellen Burns, in 1933. She preceded him in death in 1994, shortly after their 61st anniversary.

A graduate of Delavan High School, he attended Kansas State College and taught in a one-room schoolhouse in Morris County before becoming principal at Washington School in Council Grove, then principal of Roosevelt Elementary School in Manhattan for six.

He began his 28-year tenure in Topeka Schools in 1949 as principal of the original Quinton Heights School, the "old" Central Park School and Randolph School. He became the first principal of McEachron School, from which he retired in June 1977. He promptly accepted a position teaching sixth grade math at the American School in Monterrey, Mexico, as part of a teacher-student exchange program.

Mr. Stalter received his Bachelor's Degree in Education from Emporia State College, his Masters Degree in Elementary Education from Northern Colorado State College in Greeley; and a Specialist Degree in Elementary Supervision and Administration from Kansas University. His professional associations included Phi Delta Kappa, KNEA, and the National Elementary Principals Association. He was also the first president of the Topeka Council for Public Schools.

The Stalters became members of the First Christian Church on Topeka Boulevard in 1949 and were original members of Dr. Smith's Bible Class. Mr. Stalter subsequently served as president and some-time teacher of the Class, elder, deacon, chairman of the Congregation, and teacher of youth and adult Sunday School classes. After the church moved to 19th and Gage, he was a member of the board of the First Christian Church Apartments.

Active in Topeka Habitat for Humanity and Door-Step, he was a long-time member of the Downtown Kiwanis Club and later a founding member and president of the Golden K Club. He was a bell-ringer for the Salvation Army at Christmas time, and an annual volunteer for the community holiday dinners and Railroad Days.

Mr. Stalter was predeceased by his wife Faith Evans Stalter, whom in married in 1996, and by his sisters Margaretha Beckenhauer of Seneca, KS, and Lorena Francis of Wilsey, KS.

He leaves his brother, James A. Stalter of Bellevue, WA; son Steven S. Stalter of Manhattan, daughter Linda Corbett and her husband David of Boston, MA; grandson David Christian Corbett and his wife Sarah, and great-grandson Finn Oliver Corbett, also of Boston, and many nieces and nephews. He is also survived by stepchildren Faith Evans of Longmont, CO, Annie Gaddy of Lafayette, CO, and John Evans of Silt, Colo.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Stanley Stalter Rebuilding Fund, care of First Christian Church, 1880 Gage Blvd., Topeka KS 66604, for the church's Hurricane Katrina initiatives, or to Topeka Habitat for Humanity, also care of the church.

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