Edgar N. Stahley Jr, 88, of Telford, PA, passed away on Friday, January 31, 2025, at Grand View Hospital, Sellersville, PA.

Born in Slatington, PA, he was a son of the late Edgar N. Stahley and Meda (Mertz) Stahley.

His beloved wife Constance R. (Newhard) Stahley celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary on March 19th, 2019.

For most of his life he was a distinguished Suzuki Method Music teacher in the North Penn School District as well as
giving private cello and violin lessons. He also was the co-host of the Eastern District Orchestra while teaching.

Over the years he performed as a cellist with the College of William and Mary Orchestra, the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, the Municipal Opera Company and Civic Little Theater Orchestra; both of Allentown, and the Plainfield Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Stahley was a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Telford. He also directed the church choir for a couple years. Mr. Stahley managed and played the cello in the North Penn String Quartet which performed for many weddings in the Tri state area.

In his free time, his wife and him enjoyed being members of the American Eskie Dog Fanciers Club Of Greater Philadelphia for over 10 years. Their love and caring of animals was their passion.

Earlier in his life after receiving his B.S. in Music Education from Temple University, Mr. Stahley became a member of the U.S. Fleet Forces (USFF) Band which serves the U.S. Fleet Forces Command (CINCLANTFLT) in Norfolk, Virginia. The band is also known as "The Finest of the Fleet". He proudly served in the Navy under music education and was with the Flag Administration Unit. There he performed at various official ceremonies for the U.S. Government and receptions for visiting dignitaries from foreign countries. One of his proudest moments was playing for the the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) christening ceremony that took place at Norfolk, VA on September 24, 1960.

During his life, Edgar Stahley pursued several other businesses besides teaching music. While in the Navy, Mr. Stahley learned how to tune pianos which he then tuned 100's of Pianos over his lifetime. He also went back to school to learn computer programming and successfully created a cryptology software package to help keep information protected over the Internet.

He is survived by his son, Christopher Stahley and his husband Kenneth Yu of Orlando, FL and his brother Richard E. Stahley of Englewood, FL.

Funeral Service with a viewing will be held on Thursday, February 13, 2025, in the Luther Rose Chapel at Lutheran Community at Telford. 12 Lutheran Home Drive, Telford, PA 18969. The family will receive friends from 1:00p.m. until the start of the service at 2:00 p.m. The Interment will be held privately at the convenience of the family at Union Cemetery, Slatington, PA.

Arrangements are by the Sadler-Suess Funeral Home & Crematory, Telford, PA.

Edgar N. Stahley Jr. Celebration of Life Event at Telford Lutheran Community Chapel Thursday February 13th 2pm / Speech Given By Christopher Stahley

Thank you everyone for coming today to pay respects to my father, Edgar N. Stahley Jr.    Also, here today from our family, is my husband Kenneth as well as my Aunt and Uncle, Rick and Paula.  I want to thank them and anyone else who had to travel to be here today.

Today, I would like to elaborate on some of the areas in my father's obituary, in which I wrote.  Edgar N. Stahley Jr. was Born in Slatington, PA.   He was a son of the late Edgar N. Stahley and Meda (Mertz) Stahley.  For the record, I made sure I said Jr. so as not to confuse everyone with his father.   That was a big deal for my father, having the Jr. on his name.

I remember one of the many times we went up to his parent's home in Slatington.  This particular time was for snow sledding.   I was able to use my father's sled which was not plastic but was wood with metal rails.  Well that was a different experience.  I should have learned how to use the brakes because I went down their hill so fast I went over the 5 foot embankment and luckily ended up in a pile of snow.   I have some great memories of visiting my grandparents in Slatington with my parents.

My father was a devoted husband to my mom Constance Rex Stahley.   Those vows he said on March 19th 1960 to my mom,    "For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health." He definitely lived up to the part about "in Sickness".   He did everything he could to take care of my Mom when she became ill with Alzheimer's disease.

However, at what point is too much caregiving?  Well, I determined that my father's health was in jeopardy because the level of care needed for my Mom was beyond his capabilities.     So I intervened and had my parents moved to Telford Lutheran community.  My father's health actually improved once he moved into his apartment and he was not having the emotional and physical drain of taking care of my mom.

Every day my father would visit my mom until her passing in 2020.    Along his daily walks, he would stop and talk to many people either residents or personnel along his route.   Many of you from Telford might have interacted with my dad from his daily walks everyday.

I would like to add here that the care both my parents received at Telford Lutheran Community has been exceptional.   Words really cannot explain the loving care my parents received since 2016.  Thank you for all your hard work over these many years given to my parents.

Edgar N. Stahley Jr., was also my Dad.    "Dear Old Dad" is how he referred to himself at times.     I remember my Dad was always there if I needed help and there is one particular time I would like to mention.

For most of my father's life he was a music teacher.  He was a Suzuki Music teacher which meant you did not read sheet music.  It was a faster way of learning certain musical numbers by finger memorization movements on string instruments such as violin, viola, or cello.   I learned to play the cello and violin using the Suzuki method.

Not every school district had this learning method.  My father was a pioneer to get children involved into music a very young age at the North Penn School district.   There was a large International Suzuki  Method Conference in the Philadlephia area during the late 70's.   My father went back and fourth to the Suzuki Conference and after one of his very long days he came home to find his son in the backyard had a compound fracture of his left arm.

Clean cut and the bone went right through.  Here is the scar!   My father probably only had a little bit of sleep from the night before but he did what he had to do to get me to the hospital in record time. He even made a brace for my arm made out of newspaper, string and two pieces of wood.   My Dad was very crafty at times as well as reliable and he was always there when I needed him.

My Dad also had a lot of patience.  His birthday sign is a Leo like me.  My birthday is July 26th and my Dad's birthday is July 27th.  BTW, He would get my leftover birthday cake most years.  Sorry Dad!  Normally, he would only get his own birthday cake, once every 5 years.   Show Pic Example...

So how patient was my Dad??  Very.. Until...
He transported me to and from many of my dance lessons and dance rehearsals.  There was one "Nut Cracker" rehearsal that went longer than my dad's patience could take.  We were rehearsing the Spanish dance.  The director wanted it perfect and had us do the show piece over and over again.   My father was told to pick me up at 10PM.   50 mins later and with no end in sight, my father started honking his car horn.  Somehow that ended the rehearsal.  I am grateful my father did that or I probably would still be there practicing that dance.

Way before I showed up, my Dad was in the Navy and stationed in Norfork Va.  My mother also moved with my father and they both  lived on the military base together.  Military life was very different and difficult for my parents.  This probably was the most challenging thing my dad ever had to endure in his life.  Even though my father was a musician in the Navy, you still had to complete basic training and drills onboard ship.

My father told me several specific stories that I cannot repeat in Church.  But what I can say is it took a lot of convincing to get my parents to go on a Bermuda cruise back in the late 90's.  It took many months of convincing.   But once they saw you didn't need to use a step ladder to get to the next deck they were sold!  They went on a couple more cruises together over the years.

Finally, My father had tried to make a new type of software program to help keep people's personal computer information safe.  However, sales of the software never took off.  But, he would say, if you never try then you will never know.  So Dad, we will all try to live life to the fullest.   Thank you for the many years of great tips and knowledge you gave me.  I will always cherish your words of wisdom.

I will miss the almost daily phone calls from my Dad.   Love you Dad always!