- Date Of Birth: December 15, 1922
- Date Of Death: November 13, 2011
- State: Michigan
STAFINSKI, Edward died Sunday, November 13, 2011, at Rose Arbor Hospice following a period of declining health. He was born to John and Catherine Grubka Stafinski on December 15, 1922, in Vicksburg, Michigan.
After graduating from Vicksburg High School where he was a three-sport athlete, he attended Michigan State before enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Commissioned as First Lieutenant, he was assigned as a bomber pilot to the 86th Bombardment Squadron, 47th Bombardment Group. He flew 52 combat missions on the southern European front and received the Distinguished Flying Cross with clusters. Edward finished his education at Western Michigan and the University of Michigan, and taught and coached at Elsie and New Buffalo High Schools before serving as Superintendent of Schools in Bloomingdale, Marcellus, Armada, and Stevensville Lakeshore. He finished his career in education as Assistant Superintendent for Business in the Flint Beecher district. In 1951 he married Natalie L. McKenzie, the beginning of a 60-year partnership based on love and focused on family. Together, they provided an extraordinary example for daughters Teresa Thomas Appel of Vermont and Patricia Scott Schrum of Kalamazoo; four grandchildren Emily Kevin Mainstone and Michael Amy Schrum of Kalamazoo, Kathryn Appel and Elizabeth Appel of Brattleboro, Vermont; and for the joy of their recent years, a great-granddaughter, Emma. Edward was not only the provider and protector but also the living testimonial to the power of faith and resilience. In the past year, he put aside his own health concerns to care for his wife, who predeceased him on September 9, 2011. His devotion and selflessness continue to inspire his family and friends.
He is survived by his immediate family, his brother John of Vicksburg, and sisters Harriet Pultorak of Battle Creek and Violet Smith of Plainwell, brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews – and by the many students, he inspired in his long career.
