Keith Stolzle, Phd

Keith George Stolzle was born on June 9, 1927 and grew up in Woodlawn, Louisiana. He passed away peacefully at the Veterans Home in Jennings, LA on Sunday, July 7, 2024 with family members at his bedside. 

Dr. Stolzle graduated from Lacassine High School in 1944. After graduation he went to Army Specialized Training Schools at Texas Tech University and Las Cruces New Mexico University. It was at Texas Tech that he fell in love with learning. Then he enlisted in the US Army Air Force in 1945 serving in a rebuilding force near the end of World War II. 

When honorably discharged from the military, he enrolled in LSU. While at LSU he received a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Tübingen, Germany. He received four degrees from LSU: Mathematics B.S. 1952, Chemistry B.S. 1960, German Literature M.A. 1963, and Physical Chemistry PhD 1968. His dissertation title was “Studies in Molecular Luminescence”. 

While studying in Germany he met the love of his life, Helge Kuehl. They were married in Brussels, Belgium in 1962. They returned to Louisiana making their first home in Baton Rouge. Prior to his tenure at McNeese State University, he taught Chemistry and German at LSUE. He retired from McNeese in 1994.

Dr. Stolzle was a faithful member of St. John Lutheran Church. He could not attend in his final years. He never lost touch and continued to love his church and his pastor.

His favorite job was working hard in the offshore oil industry as a Derrick Man. He often spent his spare time roofing and cutting down trees for friends and family. Dr. Stolzle enjoyed entertaining family, friends, and acquaintances with stories, songs, and tales of his trips and life experiences.

Dr. Stolzle loved to read, listen to all genres of music, study, and travel. He returned thanks for his food in one or more of the five languages he spoke. In his later years, he would give his greetings and goodbyes in German, French, or Russian to anyone he met. On more than one occasion he was called a Renaissance Man. 

He shared memories of his travels to Germany and Yugoslavia. On two trips to Russia with American Lutherans he helped restore a badly damaged Lutheran Church which Russians had used as a munitions factory during the war. Dr. Stolzle and his wife supported many charitable organizations through the years. 

In January 2024 following a fall, he moved to the Veterans Home in Jennings, Louisiana. Although adjusting was difficult, he enjoyed talking with his caregivers, bird watching, and pet therapy days. Following a second fall and major surgery in June 2024, his health continued to decline.

He was predeceased by his wife, Helge Kuehl Stolzle, his parents, Joseph and Louvina Georgia Goss Stolzle, his sister, Joan Marlene Stolzle Hammer, and nephews Jack Hammer and Bryce Miller.

He is survived by three sisters Lula Christine Stolzle Singletary of Woodlawn, LA, Barbara Lee Stolzle Miller of Gonzales, TX, and Greta Elaine Stolzle Gorham of Eunice, LA. Many nieces, nephews, and friends are left to cherish his memory. His nieces and nephews often called him “Uncle Teese” or “Uncle Him.” A number friends and most of the employees and staff at the VA Home called him “Uncle Keith”. 

Arrangements are under the direction of Johnson Funeral Home in Lake Charles. A Service of Remembrance will be held at 1 PM on Saturday, August 3, 2024 at St. John Lutheran Church with Pastor Charles Miller officiating. Visitation will be from 9 AM until the time of the service at the church. Interment will follow at Pinehill Cemetery on Pinehill Cemetery Road, Iowa, LA.

Instead of flowers, the family requests donations to St. John Lutheran Church, Samaritans Purse Operation Christmas Child, or the Southwest LA Veterans Home Activities Fund.