Leon Armond Stebler Jr.

Leon Armond Stebler, Jr. died on August 11, 2021, in Austin, Texas, at the age of 85, after a battle with cancer and other health problems. Leon was born on July 20, 1936 in El Paso, Texas, to Genevieve Clements Stebler and Leon Armond Stebler, Sr. During his early years he lived in El Paso, Port Arthur, and then Houston, where he met Mary Lou (Schuenemann) Stebler, to whom he would be married for more than 50 years, until her death in 2012. During their marriage Leon and Mary Lou lived in Dallas, Houston, Arlington, Lubbock, Phoenix, and Austin.

Leon overcame an upbringing by parents who were colorful and loving, but horribly irresponsible, immature, and unreliable, who often (and from a very young age) left him to find his own way in the world. Leon found his way just fine, but not (he would tell you) without some trial and error. He served a short stint in the U.S. Army, and a much longer one in the National Guard and Reserves. He eventually worked for the same insurance company (St. Paul, which became Traveler’s) for almost 35 years, first as a claims adjuster, then as claims manager, general manager, and eventually as manager of a service center for a region encompassing several states. He was proud of his work accomplishments, and for good reason.

Leon met Mary Lou when he was in sixth grade and she was in fourth at Cage Elementary School in Houston. They began dating seriously when they attended Stephen F. Austin High School in Houston, where they also met many close lifelong friends, who they kept in touch with throughout their lives. They married in 1960, and Leon would often say that Mary Lou and the Schuenemann family gave him the stability that he’d never known before. It took Leon several years to rebound emotionally from Mary Lou’s death in 2012.

Leon was a star baseball player in his youth, playing on an Austin High team that played for the state championship, and even playing semi-professionally after high school. He later was a championship coach of youth leagues in Houston in the 1960s, and again in Arlington in the 1970s. An avid golfer, he bonded with many friends and family on the golf course for almost 40 years, until a back injury ended his playing days. And he was a huge fan of the Dallas Cowboys and UT Longhorns, rarely missing a game on TV over the years.

Leon had a legendary memory of people, places, events, old movies and movie stars, baseball players, Texas history, and almost everything else, and as a result had a story for every occasion, and one for every person he loved or cared about. Those who knew him well were entertained with stories of baseball games, high school hijinks, working on construction crews, trips to Mexico, golf games, car accidents, surviving hurricanes with the National Guard, difficult work-life decisions, movies he saw as a kid, and even an errant raft trip into the Intercoastal Waterway when he was less than 9 years old. (Did I mention his parents leaving him to fend for himself?). His stories were funny, generally self-effacing, and usually carried with them an underlying truth or moral for all of us. We hope his stories are told for many years to come.

Leon is survived by his two children, Scott Stebler and Stasia Bandy, and their spouses, Dana Stebler and Craige Bandy, and by three grandchildren, Shelby Stebler, Nathan Stebler, and Cole Bandy. Due to Covid and other concerns, services will be small and private.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made in his honor to the American Cancer Society, or a charity with a similar mission and purpose.