James "Dutch" W. Stemle

Jim attended St. Mary’s Catholic School and was a 1948 graduate of New Albany High School. He then entered the U.S. Navy and was based on the USS. Bennington and USS. Currituck. He was proud of serving his country, and those years afforded him opportunities for overseas and domestic travel. He loved telling stories and showing photographs from those trips.

Jim was thoughtful, selfless and kind — a “people” person with a keen eye for detail, an encyclopedic memory, a quick wit and wry sense of humor. He loved telling stories — he had roughly 1.5 million of them to share.

He loved classical music, big band and show tunes, and he loved sports, particularly baseball, basketball, golf and the Indy 500. He was an avid Indiana Hoosiers fan and rooted for the Cincinnati Reds, but the club he loved most was the New York Yankees. He saw many Hall-of-Famers play (DiMaggio, Berra, Mantle, Williams and many more), but his all-time favorite player was probably Stan Musial. He and Margie attended many Indy 500 and Kentucky Derbies.

After his military service, Jim became a lab technician with E.I. DuPont in Louisville. He and Margie loved golfing, traveling, shopping, going out to eat and hosting dinner parties for friends. They were regular visitors to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Jim conducted extensive genealogical research, making numerous trips to Dubois County, Indiana, where his German ancestors landed in 1857. He had a rich spiritual life and spoke fondly of his days at St. Mary’s. He and Margie were longtime members of St. Anthony’s parish in Clarksville. He is a former member of Valley View Golf Club and the Jeffersonville Elks Club.

His widow, the former Margie Pinion, was the love of his life — “a 10-plus,” he liked to say, to which she’d reply: “There’s never been a better man and husband than Jim Stemle.”

Jim is also survived by sisters Margaret Smith of Arvada, Colo., and Marilyn Jarboe (David) of New Albany; sister-in-law Theresa Stemle of East Lansing, Michigan; and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, his brothers Edward Stemle Jr. and Robert Stemle, brother-in-law Bob Smith; and sister-in-law Betty Stemle.

Visitation 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 3rd, at Kraft 2776 Charlestown Road. Funeral Service 3 p.m. Wednesday in the Kraft Chapel with Military Honors. The Service will be live-streamed onto Facebook Live www.facebook.com/KraftFuneral/ Private entombment will be in Kraft-Graceland Memorial Park. Expressions of sympathy in his memory may be made to St. Anthony of Padua Church.

You are invited to reach out to the family by posting memories and condolences on our website at www.kraftfs.com.