Eileen Stumme

    Eileen Stumme, 72, of Tripoli, Iowa, passed away on Sunday, April 1, 2012, at Cedar Valley Hospice in Waterloo, Iowa from complications of cancer.
     Funeral services were held on Monday, April 9, 2012 at St. Paul Lutheran Congregation, Siegel in Tripoli, with Pastor Larry Feldt officiating. Burial followed in the Washington Chapel Cemetery in rural Cedar Falls.

     Eileen was born on April 30, 1939, the daughter of Pearl and Ada (Robbins) Burkhardt in Charles City, Iowa.  She was baptized as an infant and confirmed on Dec. 27, 1959, at Christ Lutheran Church, Waterloo.  She graduated from Janesville High School in 1957.  Following school, she worked as an in-home nanny.  On Oct. 16, 1960, she was united in marriage to Leonard Stumme at St. Paul Lutheran Church - Siegel, rural Waverly.  The couple made their home in Waterloo and Tripoli, where Eileen was a homemaker.  In August of 1970, they moved to Clear Lake.  During that time, she worked as a student aid in the Clear Lake schools, a night auditor and front-desk manager at the Holiday Inn in Mason City, and a bookkeeper at Krieger’s Greenhouses in Clear Lake and Mason City.  In 1995, she and Leonard moved to Leonard’s family farm near Tripoli where they organically farmed for 11 years.  She was also a clerk for a couple of years at Ag-Restore in Waverly.
     One of Eileen’s greatest joys was having family and friends get together to create memories with each other and forge relationships to last a lifetime.  She was an active member of St. Paul Lutheran Congregation - Siegel, Women of Life at the church, Friendship Quilters Guild in Waverly, Washington Chapel Cemetery Association, and a card club with friends.  She was an active supporter of her grandchildren’s activities and other community events.  She also enjoyed music, quilting, knitting, gardening, playing cards, watching/listening to birds, reading, and baking, especially chocolate chip cookies.
     In 1997, Eileen was diagnosed with soft-tissue sarcoma, a form of cancer.  She was given five years to live but was blessed to live another 15 years instead.
     Eileen is survived by her four children:  Alan (Kelley) Stumme of Goodell, David (Karen) Stumme of Tripoli, Brenda (Rev. Larry) Feldt of Denver, and Darin Stumme of Seattle, Wash.; 11 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; five sisters:  Sylvia Harger of Arcadia, Okla., Dorothy Phelan of Noble, Okla., Charlotte McKenzie of Riverton, Wy., Janice Burkhardt of Augusta, Mo., and Mary (Don) Humphrey of Cedar Rapids; 3 brothers:  Lyle (Gus) Burkhardt of Janesville, Kenny (Dorothy) Burkhardt of Brush, CO, and Howard (Jan) Burkhardt of Jackson, Calif.; a sister-in-law:  Carol Burkhardt of Waverly; and many other relatives and friends.
     She was preceded in death by her husband; parents; two brothers:  W.P. “Burke” Burkhardt and Gordon Burkhardt; and an infant sister, Pamela Kay.
    Memorials may be directed to the family or St. Paul Lutheran Congregation, Siegel and online condolences for Eileen may be left at www.kaisercorson.com.