Obituary of William John Stoll

William John Stoll died peacefully at home on November 19, 2020, in Olympia, Washington. He was two weeks shy of his 80^th birthday.

 

Bill was born December 4, 1940, in Seattle, Washington, to Edward and Evelyn Stoll.   He was raised in Chicago, Illinois, where he was a faithful paper boy, enjoyed playing cards, and was a dedicated scout, earning the rank of Eagle Scout.  Both his love for the railroad and stamp collecting began at an early age, influenced by his father.

 

Bill graduated from Schurz High School and then went on to attend South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota. In 1963, he graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering.  While at school, he met Carolyn Holzwarth of Hazel, South Dakota at the Wesley Club on campus.  He was attracted to her chocolate chip cookie baking skills and asked for the cookies up until his death. They married on September 1, 1963, and drove out to Seattle, Washington. His wife thought she’d never see her family again. In Seattle, he began his 40-year career with the Washington State Department of Transportation.  He worked on the construction of I-5 through Seattle, researched infrastructure improvements (with particular interest in the turning radius of trucks), coordinated design manual updates, and assisted with converting the DOT’s software from mainframe to workstation applications.

 

He and his wife have faithfully served Grace Community Covenant Church since 1977, when they moved from Seattle to Olympia.  Over the years, he served as Treasurer and Financial Secretary, on Building committees, Church Council and wherever he was needed. Bill organized rest stop coffee weekends to raise summer camp scholarships for children.  He set chairs and ushered for weekly worship services.  For many years, he met with the men of the church for Bible Study and Breakfast on Thursday mornings, and later with Men Experiencing God on Tuesday nights.  He also served as Treasurer of the local chapter of Child Evangelism Fellowship for 11 years.

 

Bill was also an avid stamp collector. He loved to collect stamps from around the world, with people bringing him stamps from their travels.  As a model railroader, he and his son Scott built elaborate HO scale train tables.

 

Playing games with family and friends gave him much joy, especially because he usually won.  If you needed a score keeper, that was Bill - his acumen for figures was truly astounding.

 

He loved to drive whether it was cross country to South Dakota or Chicago or simply when someone needed a ride to the airport or to a church function.

 

Bill and Carolyn loved to attend Taproot Theater performances in Seattle.  In their younger years, they bowled together and attended WorldWide Cavalcade.

 

Bill is survived by his wife of 57 years, Carolyn; son, Scott Stoll of Puyallup, Washington; daughter, Carmen (Vell) Rives of Arlington, Virginia; grandchildren, Kaitlyn Stoll of Corvallis, Oregon, Justin Stoll of Puyallup, Washington, Evelyn Rives of Arlington; and Albert Rives of Arlington.

 

Memorial donations may be made to the local chapter of Child Evangelism Fellowship at CEF of Washington, Mason/Thurston Chapter, PS Box 4007, Tumwater, WA 98501.

 

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