William 'Bill' H. Stofer
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
He was born Oct. 12, 1926, in Highland Park, Mich., to Harrison Brandon and Annette Kuhn Stofer. On Dec. 30, 1967, in Plymouth United Methodist Church, he married Evelyn Harrell, who survives.
A metallurgical engineer, from 1946-50, he worked at Federated Metals, Aluminum Metallurgical Products Division, Detroit, Mich, as an analytical chemist and metallurgist while in college. From 1950-68, he owned and operated the Western Auto Associate Store, Plymouth, with his father. From 1960-63, he worked as the field service engineer in Central and South America for J.I. Case, Racine, Wis. He also developed many service manuals and troubleshooting techniques for their crawler-tractors. From 1968-92, he worked at R.R. Donnelley & Sons, Warsaw, where he was an ink engineer. He developed an ink-testing program for raw materials and printed products, as well as developing special purpose inks. He then served as their materials inspection supervisor, where he managed 240,000 tons of paper each year, reporting performance and working as a liaison between Donnelley's and many paper manufacturers to develop and improve the manufacturing of paper and refine the printing process. After retiring from Donnelley's, he was a consultant at Madison (Maine) Paper Industries from 1992-94. While working at R.R. Donnelley and during his retirement, he also maintained a small farm with his son, raising corn, soybeans, cattle and hay.
He was a lifetime craftsman, gardener, traveler and explorer. He was one of the first civilians to drive the Alcan Highway to Alaska in 1948, then working in a gold mine for a summer job while in college. He traveled the highway again in 1998. He traveled this country and others in his airplane and motor home on numerous family adventures. He raised orchids, roses, rhododendrons and azaleas, as well as other perennials, always delighting in the many colors and shapes of God's creation. He was an avid outdoorsman and had a love for nature and the water. He raced sailboats, winning many races and later captaining larger boats of family vacations in California, Canada, the Bahamas, Key West and throughout the Great Lakes. He enjoyed scuba diving, camping, hunting and fishing with family and friends. He enjoyed wood and metal working, repairing, remodeling and inventing. He had more recently taken up making stained glass windows and enjoyed the interaction of color and texture.
He was a U.S. Navy veteran, serving as a radar operator in the Pacific Theatre during World War II.
He attended Winona Lake Presbyterian Church and had been active with church youth fellowship groups and mission projects in the U.S., as well as with the Boy Scouts of America as an adult advisor to Explorer Post 253. He was a sailboat racer, captain and past member of the Maxinkuckee Yacht Club. He earned an A.S. in chemical engineering from Highland Park in 1946, and a bachelor's degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1950. Throughout the years he never stopped learning - earning his pilot's license, studying to become a master scuba diver and taking courses from Indiana University, South Bend; Goshen College; Washington University, St. Louis; the Institute of Paper Chemistry; and GAFT, PIttsburgh.
Also surviving are a son, Dr. William "Bill" (and spouse Jenny) Stofer, Warsaw; a grandson, Harrison Stofer, at home; and a sister, Elizabeth (and spouse David) Stewart, Winona Lake. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Redpath-Fruth Funeral Home, 225 Argonne Road, Warsaw, with the Rev. Bill Hambright officiating. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery, Plymouth.
Calling is from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
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Memorials to Kosciusko Home Care & Hospice, P.O. Box 1196, Warsaw, IN 46581-1196; or to Hillsdale College, 33 E. College St., Hillsdale, MI 49242.
Condolences may be sent to www.redpathfruthfuneralhome.com[[In-content Ad]]
He was born Oct. 12, 1926, in Highland Park, Mich., to Harrison Brandon and Annette Kuhn Stofer. On Dec. 30, 1967, in Plymouth United Methodist Church, he married Evelyn Harrell, who survives.
A metallurgical engineer, from 1946-50, he worked at Federated Metals, Aluminum Metallurgical Products Division, Detroit, Mich, as an analytical chemist and metallurgist while in college. From 1950-68, he owned and operated the Western Auto Associate Store, Plymouth, with his father. From 1960-63, he worked as the field service engineer in Central and South America for J.I. Case, Racine, Wis. He also developed many service manuals and troubleshooting techniques for their crawler-tractors. From 1968-92, he worked at R.R. Donnelley & Sons, Warsaw, where he was an ink engineer. He developed an ink-testing program for raw materials and printed products, as well as developing special purpose inks. He then served as their materials inspection supervisor, where he managed 240,000 tons of paper each year, reporting performance and working as a liaison between Donnelley's and many paper manufacturers to develop and improve the manufacturing of paper and refine the printing process. After retiring from Donnelley's, he was a consultant at Madison (Maine) Paper Industries from 1992-94. While working at R.R. Donnelley and during his retirement, he also maintained a small farm with his son, raising corn, soybeans, cattle and hay.
He was a lifetime craftsman, gardener, traveler and explorer. He was one of the first civilians to drive the Alcan Highway to Alaska in 1948, then working in a gold mine for a summer job while in college. He traveled the highway again in 1998. He traveled this country and others in his airplane and motor home on numerous family adventures. He raised orchids, roses, rhododendrons and azaleas, as well as other perennials, always delighting in the many colors and shapes of God's creation. He was an avid outdoorsman and had a love for nature and the water. He raced sailboats, winning many races and later captaining larger boats of family vacations in California, Canada, the Bahamas, Key West and throughout the Great Lakes. He enjoyed scuba diving, camping, hunting and fishing with family and friends. He enjoyed wood and metal working, repairing, remodeling and inventing. He had more recently taken up making stained glass windows and enjoyed the interaction of color and texture.
He was a U.S. Navy veteran, serving as a radar operator in the Pacific Theatre during World War II.
He attended Winona Lake Presbyterian Church and had been active with church youth fellowship groups and mission projects in the U.S., as well as with the Boy Scouts of America as an adult advisor to Explorer Post 253. He was a sailboat racer, captain and past member of the Maxinkuckee Yacht Club. He earned an A.S. in chemical engineering from Highland Park in 1946, and a bachelor's degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1950. Throughout the years he never stopped learning - earning his pilot's license, studying to become a master scuba diver and taking courses from Indiana University, South Bend; Goshen College; Washington University, St. Louis; the Institute of Paper Chemistry; and GAFT, PIttsburgh.
Also surviving are a son, Dr. William "Bill" (and spouse Jenny) Stofer, Warsaw; a grandson, Harrison Stofer, at home; and a sister, Elizabeth (and spouse David) Stewart, Winona Lake. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Redpath-Fruth Funeral Home, 225 Argonne Road, Warsaw, with the Rev. Bill Hambright officiating. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery, Plymouth.
Calling is from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
*****
Memorials to Kosciusko Home Care & Hospice, P.O. Box 1196, Warsaw, IN 46581-1196; or to Hillsdale College, 33 E. College St., Hillsdale, MI 49242.
Condolences may be sent to www.redpathfruthfuneralhome.com[[In-content Ad]]
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