The Village of Arlington, 7 Staahl's and Lu
Staahl, J. Lucile K.
March 15th 1920 - October 19, 2011
J. Lucile K. Staahl, 91, better known as Lu Staahl, a distinguished Teacher from District 25 and once named Teacher of the Year at Rand Jr. High School, was also a pioneering force in community theater in the greater Arlington Heights area, died Wednesday in Cary North Carolina.
Starting in the 1950's, Lu Staahl was an early member of Village Theatre – Arlington Heights' first community theater
troupe – where she would divide her duties between performing and directing. While raising her 7 kids, Lu also started
the children's workshop for the Arlington park district. Later she opened the Lu Staahl School of Dramatics
and Modeling, in a two-story clapboard building that was located just south of what is now North
School Park. Lu also had a weekly radio show on local FM station WNWC reading children's
stories as “The Lady From Storyland.” One of Lu's former drama students, Ginny McSwain
(nee Hawley), now an Emmy Award winning animation director currently working in Hollywood,
recalls fondly how Lu enjoyed having her family perform in her many productions.
After closing her own school, Mrs. Staahl returned to teaching public school at Windsor primary. In the late 60's she joined the Language Arts staff at the newly opened Rand Jr. High School. Lu Staahl was one of the first public school teachers to utilize improvisation, particularly theater games developed by theater legend Viola Spolin, to help her students excel at creative writing. Lu was highly regarded by students and teachers alike and was honored as Teacher of the Year.
“Mrs. Staahl's influence has not ended,” recalls former student, Beth Blair Gray. “She gave me lasting advice that I have passed on to my kids, and they are passing on to theirs. She was the first adult to speak frankly to us as people. She said ‘you are going to worry a lot in the next years about what everyone is thinking about you. I'll tell you a secret. Stop worrying about it. They are all very busy thinking about the same thing. Then she went on to teach me about the English language.'” Lu Staahl was also very involved with the Arlington Teachers Association District 25 and served numerous terms as president.
Born in Buffalo, New York, Lu Staahl received a scholarship to attend Syracuse University, after her freshman year she transferred to Brockport where she received her teaching degree in 1942. She taught one year in Long Island, NY, and performed in summer stock theater. She met and married the love of her life, Gustav Staahl in 1944, and moved to Arlington Heights, Illinois. Later, she would earn her Masters Degree from Roosevelt University. In 1984 she and her husband retired to Florida. Her husband died in 1993, but Lu Staahl kept active and traveled extensively. Recently, because of declining health, Lu took up residence in her daughter Carol's home in North Carolina. Carol was at her side when she died peacefully. Lu Staahl is survived by her brother, Thomas Kraska, her sister, Rita Stasio; seven children: Dr. Gustav Staahl of ND, Dr. Theodore Staahl of CA, Susan Staahl Rybski who was also a teacher in WI and formerly Dist 25, Jim Staahl an actor and writer in CA, Carol Staahl Neri who left a career in law to be a teacher in NC, Diane (Dee) Staahl Pink a graphic artist in NV and Mike Staahl working in computer science in CA; fourteen grand children; and eight great grand children. A memorial service is in the works for the Arlington Heights area during the coming summer.
“Lu not only shaped the lives of students at Rand but also a great number of staff members,” said teacher Robert Metzger. “There are only a few of us left now but she will always be the model teacher that we all tried to be. ... Lu was our "director" in so many ways. We all wanted to be like her. She will be missed.”
for more information contact dianepinkd@yahoo.com
Lu's sixth child
Her obit:
J. Lucile (Lu) K. Staahl
March 15, 1920 - October 19, 2011
Lu Staahl, 91, of Ft. Myers, Florida passed away peacefully on October 19, 2011 at at the home of her daughter, Carol Neri, in North Carolina. Born in Buffalo, NY in 1920 to the late Zita and Ted Kraska, Lu Staahl attended Syracuse University, and then transferred to Brockport where she received her teaching degree in 1942. She taught one year in Long Island, NY then moved to Evanston, IL in 1944 to marry Gustav Staahl, the love of her life, who was working on his PhD in physics at Northwestern University. They settled in Arlington Heights, IL where they raised their seven children. Lu was involved in the community, and theater was her passion. She helped launch Village Theater, opened a dramatics and modeling studio, and was The Lady From Storyland, a radio show she created in which she read classic children stories over the air.
Special Interests: Lu was into basketball in high school and was the captain of her team. She was in plays and in college joined a theater troup when teaching on Long Island. She loved musicals from Hello Dolly to Cats. She directed many productions of children's theater in Arlington Heights. Her mother, Zita, was a trained concert pianist but Lu taught herself piano and learned to play by ear. She has a grand piano and when Lu moved to Florida, it did too. And she was a voracious reader, never without the latest best seller book.
When the youngest and seventh Staahl was in kindergarten, Lu returned to teaching in the public school system. She was a gifted and compassionate educator believing in the unlimited and unique potential of each of her students. She utilized creative dramatics in the classroom to augment learning skills as well as to teach empathy and self-awareness to better help her students cope with real life issues. She emphasized creativity and innovation. Lu was highly regarded by students and teachers alike, and was honored as Teacher of the Year for the District. Lu earned her Masters Degree from Roosevelt University, her husband Gus in full support and many times he drove her to class.
In 1981 she and her husband retired to Florida. Her husband died in 1993, but Lu Staahl kept active and continued to travel including a visit to Sweden in 1998 where she met all of Gus' kin. She continued her community interests in Ft. Myers, volunteering as an usher for Barbara Mann Theatre and at the information desk at Lee Memorial Hospital.
Lu Staahl is survived by her brother, Thomas Kraska, her sister, Rita Stasio; several nieces and nephews; and seven children:
1) Dr. Gustav Staahl of ND,
2) Dr. Theodore Staahl of CA,
3) Susan Staahl Rybski,a teacher in WI and IL- Dist 25,
4) Jim Staahl an actor and writer in LA, CA,
5) Carol Staahl Neri teacher in NC,
6) Dee Staahl Pink a graphic artist in NV and
7) Mike Staahl working in computer science in CA;
plus fourteen grand children; and eight great grand children.
Memorial: Lu's seven children, siblings and families and friends plan to gather this summer in Ft. Myers to celebrate her life: Actor, Pianist, Teacher, Educator, Traveler, Mother, Wife, Sister, Grandma, Great Grandma, and an inspiration to all she met.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospice of Wake County, 250 Hospice Circle, Raleigh, NC 27605 in tribute to their competent and compassionate care.
Email contact dianepinkd@yahoo.com .