OBITUARY Stanley Hugh Amstutz November 8, 1925 – December 27, 2018 Stanley Hugh Amstutz (November 6, 1925 – Dec. 27, 2018) passed away in Ft. Lauderdale, FL at the age of 93, as he was de-embarking from a Christmas cruise with his companion Lora Tucker at his side.
Stan was a devoted father to his daughters Gloria Amstutz White (Dr. Jackson Pickett III), Texanne Amstutz Sotack (Major James Sotack, Jr. – deceased and Bob Bucter), and Amy Amstutz Claxton (Dr. David Claxton); grandfather to Jessica White (Dr. Brian Arneson), Travis White (Karen Way White), Benjamin Claxton, Christina Maxine Claxton, and James Hugh Claxton; and great-grandfather to Edward White. He was predeceased by his loving wife of 69 years, Maxine Price Amstutz (May 22, 1925 – March 1, 2016), by his sisters Louise Amstutz Thibodeaux Edlen (Jason Thibodeaux deceased and Dave Edlen – deceased) and Ruth Annette Amstutz Stahly (Dan Stahly – deceased), son-in-law James Sotack, Jr., and his sisters-in-law Dorothy Price, Kathryn Price Andrews (Edwin Andrews – deceased), and Roselle Price Shelby (Bill Shelby – deceased). He is survived by his sister Myrna Amstutz Bauman (Steve Bauman), sisters-in-law Wanda Cavitt (Bobby Dan Cavitt – deceased) and Patsy Armstrong (A.J. Armstrong), his brother-in-law, E.B.Price, Jr. (Billie Lou Price), and many nieces, nephews, and “adopted daughters” all of whom he treasured.
Stanley was born in Berne, IN on November 6, 1925 to Wesley George Amstutz and Ida Stauffer Amstutz, the second of four children and the only son. After graduation from Geneva High School in 1942, he enlisted for WWII military service and was assigned to Great Lakes Naval Station in Chicago. After the war, he attended UT – Austin, earning his bachelor’s degree in Business in 1948.
He began his business career with General Electric in Schenectedy, NY but was recruited in 1952 to join a “start-up” company in Dallas, namely Texas Instruments, working as a computer programmer. He remained with TI until he took early retirement in 1980, to pursue adventures in cross-country commerce as a free-lance driver of 18-wheeler freight trucks. During this time he also was a faithful member of Dallas congregations of the Church of Christ, including congregations at Shamrock Shores, Garland Road, Highland Oaks, and later Christian Care Center.
After retiring from his 2nd career in trucking, he served as a hospital volunteer for Doctors’ Hospital in Garland, TX for almost a decade. Among his many hobbies was playing duplicate bridge for nearly seven decades, earning the status of Gold Life Master with the American Contract Bridge League. Stan always encouraged his three daughters to pursue math and science, whether it was by teaching them (when they were quite young) to play card games such as spades, bridge or canasta or by taking them to visit his workplace at TI.
He was proud of his Swiss heritage, and enjoyed cooking and sharing his favorite Swiss recipes with anyone willing to try his specialties. His family remembers with fond amusement his great appetite for butter with his bread, at home or at any restaurant on the planet, and his most frequently used words,”more butter! ” Stan was also a world traveler from the 1950s until this year, visiting hundreds of countries on all seven continents, and returning frequently to Caribbean locations for family reunions in recent years.
A memorial service will be held at Sparkman Funeral Home’s Chapel in Richardson, TX on January 19, 2019 at 1 pm, with private family burial to follow at the family property in Nubbin Ridge Cemetery, Granbury, TX. Donations in honor of Stan Amstutz may be sent to the American Association for the Advancement of Science at www. aas.org.
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