DONALD MEADE STALKER, 1921-2013

Contractor taught carpentry to students

9/9/2013

Donald Meade Stalker of Sylvania, who taught carpentry to students in Sylvania and Bedford schools and constructed hundreds of homes in his lifetime, died Friday at Ebeid Hospice, Sylvania.

Mr. Stalker, 92, suffered from diabetes and circulatory problems, said his son, Steve.

He was born in Toledo on Feb. 17, 1921, to Fred and Edith Stalker.

Mr. Stalker was life-long teacher of the trades and was a building contractor who would take plans from developers and transform them into homes throughout the Toledo area, said his son.

Mr. Stalker built an estimated 400 to 500 single-family homes, his son said.

He taught high school students in Sylvania until the mid 1970s and at Bedford until 1984, when he retired. He continued his carpentry work until he was 82, Steve said.

“He was not one to sit around,” he said.

He was persistent as well.

He first proposed marriage to the former Anna Wright, but she turned him down. He enlisted in the Army, and continued asking her for her hand until she relented, Steve said.

The couple married in 1943. She died in 1997 after 54 years of marriage.

Mr. Stalker enlisted in the Army shortly after Pearl Harbor and joined the Signal Corp because of his skill with Morse code. He left the Army after the war but was called back up during the Korean War, and served in that country for about six months before his discharge as a first lieutenant.

He brought his teaching skills to the Boy Scouts as scoutmaster of Troop 82 at Wernert School for many years. His troop constructed a cabin at Camp Miakonda in Sylvania Township.

Mr. Stalker is survived by daughters Robin Lloyd and Donna Armstrong; sons Tom, Steve, Mike, Rich,, Dave, and Pete; sister Virginia Temple, and 37 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren.

In addition to his wife he was preceded in death by brothers Allan and Jim and sisters Marian Evans and Dorothy Link.

Visitation will be Wednesday from 2 to 8 p.m. at Newcomer Funeral Home, 4150 W. Laskey Rd., where a military service will be held at 7 p.m. A memorial service will be Thursday at 11 a.m. at Trilby United Methodist Church, where he was a longtime member and Sunday school superintendent.

Memorials are suggested to Trilby United Methodist Church.