Erna W. Stehle, 96
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Erna Wilhemina Stehle, 96, of Sweetwood Retirement Community, 1611 Cold Spring Road, died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010, at Sweet Bbrook Care Centers.
Born in Frankfurt, Germany, on April 12, 1913, daughter of Ernst and Margarete Becker Engelhardt, she left the Frankfurt Opera Ballet at age 17 and lived with an aunt and uncle in Akron, Ohio. She came to love her adopted nation.
A homemaker, Mrs. Stehle resided in Washington, D.C., during World War II but spent most of her married life in New York City. She moved to Sweetwood in 1992.
She loved to entertain, even in her later years. She also had a lovely voice and enjoyed singing at special events. Ever an optimist, said family, Mrs. Stehle loved to tell stories and jokes and would regale her friends at Sweetwood with witty tales, always remaining a bright presence wherever she went.
Her husband, Alfonse Stehle, whom she married in New York City on June 15, 1935, died in 1992. They had met in 1934 aboard ship when Mrs. Stehle was returning to Frankfurt for a visit. They were happily married for 57 years.
She leaves two grandchildren, Jennifer Wheelock Centola and her husband, Christopher, of Webster, N.Y., and Jared Horton Wheelock and his wife, Bridget, of Sherman Oaks, Calif.; three great-grandchildren, Garrick and Jordan Centola and Dylan Jared Wheelock, and her son-in-law, Alan Wheelock of Cambridge, N.Y.
She was predeceased by her daughters Pamela Stehle and Renate Stehle Wheelock.
FUNERAL NOTICE — Services for Mrs. Stehle will be private. Because of her concerns for the developmentally disabled, children with blood diseases and victims of breast cancer, memorial contributions are suggested to the Association for the Help of Retarded Children Nassau, N.Y., the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in care of Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals, 521 West Main St., North Adams, MA 01247.