Mariella Stout

A CELEBRATION of the life of MARIELLA CLEMENTS STOUT will be held on Saturday, April 6 at 2:00 PM. The ceremony will be held at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church at 100 IN-46 in Bloomington, Indiana 47408. A short reception will follow the service. Mariella’s children look forward to seeing her friends and family. For those who can’t attend, the celebration will be live-streamed through St. Mark’s UMC-Bloomington, IN. Please visit www.smumc.church and click on Live Stream banner. Mariella Clements Stout of Bloomington, Indiana, was born on September 30th, 1928 to Chalice and Dora (Veatch) Clements. Mariella spent her early years in Paoli, Indiana. After graduation from Paoli High School in 1946 she studied voice at the IU School of Music in Bloomington. In 1948, Mariella married Gerald Louret (Jerry) Stout, a marriage that lasted until Jerry’s death 69 years later. Soon after their marriage, they moved to Bloomington and shortly thereafter began their family of four children. For the next several decades Mariella became her family’s chef, (specializing in all that is chicken and ground beef); limousine driver and time efficiency expert; baker extraordinaire; Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader; homework supervisor . . . Mariella’s passion, other than her family, was music. She and Jerry sang in the St. Mark’s United Methodist Church choir for over half a century, were charter members of the Bloomington Chamber Singers, frequently sang with the Bloomington Pops Chorus, and Mariella was an Honorary Member and past president of the Bloomington Chapter of The Friday Musicale. As a resident of Bloomington for over 73 years, Mariella supported her community in many other ways as well. She was a member of the American Legion Burton Woolery Post 18 Auxiliary, a member of Bloomington Moose Lodge #1081, and recently joined Bloomington Elk Lodge #446 making her the oldest new inductee in Indiana, an honor of which she was especially proud. Mariella was an active member and leader in the philanthropic sorority, Tri Kappa starting in high school, and worked for many years delivering meals to isolated seniors through Bloomington’s Meals on Wheels Program. If there was one analogy for Mariella’s huge heart it was her home. It always exuded kindness, generosity, and an amazing ability to bring comfort to those around her. At her passing, one of Mariella’s closest friends, a Korean immigrant turned citizen, wrote to her family, “She was a home. She had that magic. Always welcoming . . .always making me feel so comfortable”. Perhaps this is Mariella’s greatest legacy. Mariella passed from this world surrounded by her loving children on January 27, 2023. She is preceded in death by her husband; her parents; her brother, Harry Clements; her brother-in-law, and sister-in-law, Harold and Ruthie Stout; and recently her granddaughter, Michelle Dora Starrs Bissell. She is survived by her children, Susan (Duane-deceased, William Matthews-deceased) Richards, Debbie (Doug–deceased) Thieman, Chalice (Rhonda) Stout, and Karen (Tom) Blake; grandchildren, Melissa (Jon) Blake Storm, Philip Blake, grandson-in-law Abram Bissell, and Martha Thieman; great-grandchildren, Ella and Ava Bissell, Ellionna , Amya, and Abel Garcia, Elizabeth and Lorelei Storm; sister-in-law, Marie Stout Newlin, and sister-in-law, Patricia Clements. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.DayDeremiahFrye.com for the Stout family.