I have received several private emails and calls requesting information about the funeral for Mary "Stolzi" Stolzenbach. I hope that this post reaches her many online friends at other websites and listservs.
I talked with Father Stephen Rogers, the senior priest at St. Ignatius Parish near Franklin, Tenn. The funeral is at 1 p.m. today, Central Daylight Time. The service was delayed while her son John flew in from Japan. The other son, Fritz, lives in Washington, D.C.
It is unclear whether Stolzi suffered a mini-stroke that caused her to fall on the evening of July 29 or whether the fall led to her coma. She was able to call 911 after the fall and was admitted to the hospital, where doctors treated a cut on her face. Father Stephen talked with her at about 9:45 that night and she was completely lucid. Then she went into a coma about 30 minutes later and never recovered.
As many of her online friends know, her husband, Conrad, has Alzheimer's Disease and had recently moved into an assisted living facility and has been comfortable there. As Stolzi's had requested, the family asks that those wishing to honor her do so by donating to the Alzheimer's Association, in honor of Conrad Stolzenbach and his caregiver, Mary.
May her memory be eternal!
P.S. Father Joseph Huneycutt of the Orthodixie blog has added a tribute of his own. It included this salute to his sister in this strange parish called the World Wide Web, and the ties that bind cyberfriends together.
Mary and I had many arguments over the years. These were always ill matched because Mary's intellect was far superior -- with a biting wit. Some of these disagreements happened on various e-lists. We would often swap friendly private posts to each other while carrying on "badly" for public consumption. When Mary sided with you, you felt justified. When she was on the "other side," well, you felt differently. And, I must admit, sometimes she would send me emails -- or questions -- that helped me to realize just how non-intellectual (aka dumb) I am really am. But, like a good school teacher, you never doubted that she loved you. ...
I am stunned and saddened by her sudden passing. I cannot believe that there will be no more "Stolzi" on the internet. We're all the worse for it.