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Services
Visitation with the family will be held at Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home on Wednesday, 5/22 between 4-7pm. The memorial service will be at Packanack Community Church on Thursday, 5/23 at 10am.
Stella Marie Almroth, a longtime resident of the Packanack Lake community in Wayne, NJ, died peacefully on May 19, 2019 at the age of 93.
Born in Altoona, PA on November 12, 1925 to Ruth Susan Riddle and George Ernest Riddle, Stella grew up with two sisters, Emma and Blanche, and a younger brother, George. They learned to be hard workers from an early age as they helped build a thriving landscape business, Kettle Nursery, and grew varietal apples and garden vegetables which they sold in the Altoona Farmer’s Market where Stella worked on Saturdays. In later years, when Stella was asked what she remembered most about her childhood, she would say “the delicious food”, remembering her mother’s Pennsylvania Dutch-style dishes, fresh fruit pies and jams.
Influential in her early life where two great aunts, both teachers in one room schoolhouses, who encouraged her love of learning. Stella was the first in her family to attend a university, graduating in 1947 from Penn State with a Bachelor of Science in Education, and in 1967 with a Master of Arts from Paterson State College (now William Paterson University), specializing in early childhood education and reading. She devoted much of her life to educating young children at Packanack School where she taught 2nd grade for 30 years, sharing her love of literature and social studies, while teaching subjects such as the traditions of the native peoples of Australia and Alaska.
She married Frank Stanley Almroth on July 1, 1950. They met while Frank, also a teacher, was visiting his relatives from Paterson, NJ, who had followed the expansion of railroad operations to a large base in Altoona. Early in their marriage Stella taught 7th grade in Allendale. In 1955 Stella and Frank moved to Packanack Lake, where they lived for most of their 59 years of marriage, and their two daughters, Janet and Kim, were born.
Stella was devoted to her family, especially her granddaughter, Kristy, who was the apple of her eye. She had a lifelong love for gardening and nature, and could often be found working about her garden, reading about flowers or birds, attending Garden Club or visiting local gardens and flower shows. Stella and Frank were also world travelers. In their retirement, they traveled the globe from cruising the coasts of Australia and Alaska, to exploring the Amazon and Europe, to attending the Oberammergau and visiting the Holy Land with Marble Collegiate Church - where Stella famously road a donkey. The places they visited and stories are many.
She was active in her community and church. A lifelong Delta Gamma sorority member, she helped create books in braille for the blind, served as Treasurer of the Packanack Lake Garden Club for many years, and contributed her time as a volunteer at Packanack Community Church. Together with her husband, she was a lifelong patron of theatre, music and the arts.
She is survived by her two daughters, Janet Almroth Robertson of Princeton, NJ, Kim Kristine Vanderwende of Frenchtown, NJ, and granddaughter, Kristy Lee Smith and husband Kevin Smith of Barto, PA.
Donations in Stella’s memory can be made to Packanack Community Church, 120 Lake Drive East, Wayne, NJ 07470.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Visitation with the family will be held at Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home on Wednesday, 5/22 between 4-7pm. The memorial service will be at Packanack Community Church on Thursday, 5/23 at 10am.
Services
Visitation with the family will be held at Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home on Wednesday, 5/22 between 4-7pm. The memorial service will be at Packanack Community Church on Thursday, 5/23 at 10am.
Stella Marie Almroth, a longtime resident of the Packanack Lake community in Wayne, NJ, died peacefully on May 19, 2019 at the age of 93.
Born in Altoona, PA on November 12, 1925 to Ruth Susan Riddle and George Ernest Riddle, Stella grew up with two sisters, Emma and Blanche, and a younger brother, George. They learned to be hard workers from an early age as they helped build a thriving landscape business, Kettle Nursery, and grew varietal apples and garden vegetables which they sold in the Altoona Farmer’s Market where Stella worked on Saturdays. In later years, when Stella was asked what she remembered most about her childhood, she would say “the delicious food”, remembering her mother’s Pennsylvania Dutch-style dishes, fresh fruit pies and jams.
Influential in her early life where two great aunts, both teachers in one room schoolhouses, who encouraged her love of learning. Stella was the first in her family to attend a university, graduating in 1947 from Penn State with a Bachelor of Science in Education, and in 1967 with a Master of Arts from Paterson State College (now William Paterson University), specializing in early childhood education and reading. She devoted much of her life to educating young children at Packanack School where she taught 2nd grade for 30 years, sharing her love of literature and social studies, while teaching subjects such as the traditions of the native peoples of Australia and Alaska.
She married Frank Stanley Almroth on July 1, 1950. They met while Frank, also a teacher, was visiting his relatives from Paterson, NJ, who had followed the expansion of railroad operations to a large base in Altoona. Early in their marriage Stella taught 7th grade in Allendale. In 1955 Stella and Frank moved to Packanack Lake, where they lived for most of their 59 years of marriage, and their two daughters, Janet and Kim, were born.
Stella was devoted to her family, especially her granddaughter, Kristy, who was the apple of her eye. She had a lifelong love for gardening and nature, and could often be found working about her garden, reading about flowers or birds, attending Garden Club or visiting local gardens and flower shows. Stella and Frank were also world travelers. In their retirement, they traveled the globe from cruising the coasts of Australia and Alaska, to exploring the Amazon and Europe, to attending the Oberammergau and visiting the Holy Land with Marble Collegiate Church - where Stella famously road a donkey. The places they visited and stories are many.
She was active in her community and church. A lifelong Delta Gamma sorority member, she helped create books in braille for the blind, served as Treasurer of the Packanack Lake Garden Club for many years, and contributed her time as a volunteer at Packanack Community Church. Together with her husband, she was a lifelong patron of theatre, music and the arts.
She is survived by her two daughters, Janet Almroth Robertson of Princeton, NJ, Kim Kristine Vanderwende of Frenchtown, NJ, and granddaughter, Kristy Lee Smith and husband Kevin Smith of Barto, PA.
Donations in Stella’s memory can be made to Packanack Community Church, 120 Lake Drive East, Wayne, NJ 07470.
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