Josef Stilling

Josef Stilling, 89, passed away peacefully on May 22, 2026. Josef, who often went by the nickname Sepp, was born in Miletic, Yugoslavia (now Serbia) on November 16, 1936 to Lorenz and Katarina Stilling.

This was a challenging time and place to be born; Lorenz was involuntarily sent to Siberia in 1944 and Katarina was forced to leave her home with her two young children, Josef, 8, and his older sister Marianne, 12. They became “displaced persons” and were sent to various camps, living in primitive barrack style housing.

Eventually, the family was able to start a new life in Kapfenberg, Austria. While Lorenz did make it back to his family, he returned a very sick man and died, at 39 years old, in 1951. In Kapfenberg, Josef became a painter’s apprentice at age 14. He worked hard and, in due course, became a professional painter.

In 1957, through Catholic Charities, Josef was given the opportunity to immigrate to the United States; his mother and (now married) sister remained in Austria. With the help of friends, Josef found a place to stay and established himself as an excellent painter. In 1960, Josef met Ingrid Schneider and in 1961 they were married.

Josef is survived by his wife of 64 years, Ingrid Stilling, his daughters Maria Stilling and Linda Moritz, son-in-law Ken Moritz, his three grandchildren, Talia, Abbie and Calvin, and one great grandson, Jozef. He is preceded in death by his son, Josef (Seppi) Stilling Jr., who passed at age 50 in 2019. While Josef Sr. showed signs of dementia before Seppi’s passing, Josef Sr.’s health seemed to decline faster after the tragic loss of his son. While Josef Sr. had always delighted in an active lifestyle, biking and hiking and just taking walks around the neighborhood, after 2019 these pursuits waned and he became weaker, both physically and mentally. For years now his wife and daughter, Maria, have been caring for him and in the last four weeks of his life he was looked after by the wonderful medical team, Hospice of the Valley, out of Phoenix, AZ.

Josef had very specific interests and hobbies throughout his life. He loved exploring natural places like Starved Rock and the Chicago Botanic Garden. He loved Marty Robbins and pulling out crab grass from the lawn. He would claim his disdain for pets but then love the attention he got while taking his daughter’s dog out for a walk. He loved the Arundel books by Kenneth Roberts, anything written by the German author Karl May, and reading any newspaper he could get his hands on. He was obsessed with filling up the Lawn and Garden bags to bursting and always complained about (Linda’s) dirty window screens and sills. He loved Chicago and its history and loved painting on the North Shore. He’d always say, “There’s no bad neighborhood in Winettka!” When he opened a fresh can of coffee in the kitchen, he’d stick the can under everyone’s nose and force them to take a good sniff, taking several long drafts himself; he was funny that way.

Josef will be cremated and services will be determined at a later date.