Stacey Anne Shuck

Stacey Anne Shuck, passed away unexpectedly at her home near Auckland, New Zealand on July 15, 2021. Stacey was born on December 24, 1959 in Beech Grove, Indiana to William D. and Margaret J. Shuck. A graduate of Southport High School, Stacey earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and a Master of Music degree in violin performance from Butler University. She studied two years in Japan and received the Suzuki Teachers Diploma from the Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto. With her husband Simon Griffiths she had a career of more than 30-years in music education. Stacey taught countless young musicians in the United States, New Zealand, and internationally. Stacey and Simon’s daughter, Aleena, is a senior violin performance major at The Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Stacey was preceded in death by her father, William. She is survived by her husband, Simon, her daughter, Aleena, her mother, Margaret, sisters Lauren Atkins and Alisa (Greg) Wickliff and brothers David (Elizabeth) Shuck, John Shuck, and James (Susie) Shuck. She is also survived by her nieces Anna (Dawson) Gore, Ella Wickliff, and Sarah Shuck, by her nephews William Shuck, Sam (Abby) Shuck, Danny Shuck, Andrew Shuck, and Ethan Wickliff, by her cousin Cheryl (David) Lane, and by her life-long friend Amy Metheny. Stacey lived a full and rich life through her profession in music, her passion for gardening, family, swimming, and modeling sustainable living. Stacey grew up with her siblings in the United Church of Christ (UCC) and was baptized and confirmed at St. John’s UCC. Along with all her siblings, she was a competitive swimmer through high school and college. Her love of music began with piano lessons from her mother, and she added violin at a young age when she discovered her mother’s violin at her grandparents’ home. She played in the Southport High School Orchestra, the Indiana All State Orchestra, the Indianapolis Youth Symphony, and participated in numerous violin competitions. She went on to study violin with Larry Shapiro at the University of Evansville and at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In 1983, she traveled to Matsumoto Japan to study with Shinichi Suzuki. It was there that she met Simon, also a violin and viola student, and they were married in 1988 in Indianapolis. They lived near Rocky Ripple and Stacey earned her Master’s degree in performance from Butler University in 1990. She and Simon next moved to Ithaca, New York, where they both taught violin. In 1994, they moved for a short time to North Carolina where they helped her sister and brother-in-law restore a farmhouse while camping on the property. In 1995 Stacey and Simon moved to New Zealand. They lived and taught in Auckland and on Waiheke Island where they built a home at the Awaawaroa Bay Ecovillage, a community dedicated to an ecologically sustainable lifestyle. They then moved to Helensville, and finally to South Head overlooking the Kaipara Harbour where they fostered a thriving macadamia nut farm. Her commitment to her loving husband, daughter Aleena, and family was unmatched. Each year she traveled from New Zealand to Indianapolis to be with family and many were fortunate enough to visit her, Simon, and Aleena at their wonderful New Zealand home. Throughout her adult life, Stacey deeply loved working with children through teaching and performing violin. Stacey was a guest clinician at various Suzuki Institutes and workshops in the U.S. and New Zealand and was the Teacher Trainer and the Director of Teacher Training for the New Zealand Suzuki Institute. She was a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas and the New Zealand Suzuki Institute. She was trained at the Center for Music and Young Children in Princeton, New Jersey as a registered Music Together® instructor. Stacey and Simon worked with hundreds of children, youth, and parents to foster student musical abilities while also developing life-long relationships. A private memorial was held July 21 in New Zealand and a celebration of Stacey’s life will be held at Zion Evangelical United Church of Christ, Indianapolis, on Saturday, July 31 at 11:00 A.M. Visitation will be from 10:00-11:00 A.M. preceding the service. Interment will be at Crown Hill Cemetery at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra at https://www.indianapolissymphony.org or the American Heart Association at https://www.heart.org.