A public-school educator of 30 years and a school-board trustee for 18, Stella was a third-generation Texas educator and her family has been in education in the south since the years following the Civil War.
Stella Dee Bolding was born Dec. 14, 1934, in San Angelo, Texas, to Anne Clare Wray and Sidney Porter Bolding. She was the third of four children, all of whom were raised in San Angelo and educated in San Angelo schools.
Stella was named after her grand aunt Stella Terrill Stover and her grandmother Delia Dossey Bolding. She was raised in the United Methodist Church in San Angelo and attended Stephen F. Austin Elementary and San Angelo High School.
She participated in Girl Scouts, church and school activities, such as drill team, Footlights, class leadership, The Westerner yearbook and swimming.
After graduation in 1953, Stella attended San Angelo College, earning a degree in 1955.
During her senior year in high school, Stella met Orlie Kenneth Wolfenbarger, who was a new student from Arizona. He was an athlete for the Bobcats and then also competed in football, basketball and track while also earning his degree at SAC with Stella. The couple was married Aug. 6, 1955, and began attending McMurry University in Abilene.
While finishing up at McMurry, the couple was blessed with the birth of Orlie Kenneth Wolfenbarger III (Buddy) in 1957. Orlie finished his degree and was offered a position as dock foreman for a freight company in Houston. Stella put her degree plans on hold, one semester short.
The family moved to Houston where they were blessed with the birth of Susan Dee Wolfenbarger in 1961.
After moving back home to the San Angelo area, Orlie began his career as a teacher and football coach, working for San Angelo ISD then Mertzon schools.
The couple eventually settled in Mertzon, where they bought land and Orlie farmed in addition to coaching and teaching. Stella was able to finish her degree from McMurry in 1965 and began her career, working first at Travis Elementary in San Angelo and then at Mertzon schools, where she first started working half-days in 1964 while finishing up her degree.
The family was blessed with the birth of Amy Lee Wolfenbarger in 1969.
Stella and Orlie were a great couple who loved doing things together, including dancing, playing bridge, eating out with friends, going to the movies and theater, going shopping and traveling; it didn’t matter what it was because they just enjoyed each other’s company.
They were very involved in church, community and school activities, both for their children and for all the other children of Irion County. There were countless 4-H meetings and projects, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, athletic events, banquets, parties and senior trips.
Orlie eventually got out of coaching and education and the couple owned several businesses while he also served first on the Board of Trustees for Irion County ISD and then as an Irion County commissioner. She retired from education – where she served mostly as a fourth-grade teacher -- in 1995 but stayed active with church activities, served on the Child Welfare Board and volunteered for Building Bridges, a Hospice support group specifically designed for children who have experienced loss.
Even in their retirement, the young people of Irion County loved the Wolfenbargers, who served as sponsors one year for a big trip of high schoolers to Germany. They were mentors and a listening ear to many young educators and administrators over the years.
Orlie passed away April 19, 2000, marking the end of 44 years of marriage.
From 2000-2018, Stella served on the Irion County ISD school board, where she was held in high regard, not only for her experience in education, but for her love of the children in Irion County.
In addition to helping all three children earn their college degrees and supporting them in starting families of their own, Stella and Orlie welcomed five grandchildren onto the planet and lavished each of them with love and support. Orlie didn’t get to meet the last two grandchildren, but there eventually were a total of seven, followed by six great grandchildren.
Stella loved family and some of the best memories we all have are of big family gatherings with the whole Bolding clan and others at the Wolfenbarger home in Mertzon.
Stella was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, two sisters (Anne Clare Bolding Dickens and Mary Ruby Bolding Land) and a brother (Edward Porter Bolding).
She is survived by her three children: son Buddy and wife Vickie, of Comstock, Texas; daughter Susan and husband Steve Keenum, of Abilene, Texas; and daughter Amy and husband Matthew McDaniel, of Mertzon, Texas.
She is also survived by grandchildren: Michael Wolfenbarger and wife Belinda, Christopher Wolfenbarger, Casey Keenum and wife Kimberly of Houston, Lauren Keenum and husband Justin Robbins, Allison Keenum, Will McDaniel and Alexa McDaniel.
She is also survived by great-grandchildren: Michaelyne Wolfenbarger, Wren Robbins, Ruthie Robbins, Kyler Keenum, Annabelle Robbins and Cadence Keenum.
Also surviving Stella are cousins Judy Baity, Danny Casey and Don Bolding along with numerous nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and nephews and second cousins, all of whom spent many wonderful hours at family get-togethers throughout the years.
The family would like to thank the many people who were important in Stella’s long and happy life. There were too many special friends and colleagues to ever mention them all and not leave somebody out. You couldn’t go shopping with Stella without her running into someone she knew, and if she didn’t know them, it wasn’t for long.
She loved being involved in the many reunions of the Bobcat Class of 1953. Many laughs were shared in the planning and holding of those events. To the Class of ’53, may the years treat you kindly.
She loved her church family and her friends in education. She loved following high school and college sports because she was a true coach’s wife and mama and grandma.
The family would also like to thank the staff at Shannon Medical Center, San Angelo Home Health, the staff at Baptist Retirement Community – particularly the staffs at Sagecrest and The Crest homes -- along with Dr. John Harvey, for their loving care and attention.
She missed our father greatly in the 21 years since his passing. There were lots of fun trips and times and memories made but he was never far from our hearts.
We will cherish her memory every time we reunite in laughter, every time we bake a pan of her brownies or a pecan pie, every time we gather for a kickoff. She’ll continue to be with us every time we celebrate a wedding or the birth of another blessed child.
The family will hold a private family service but is planning a community memorial, details of which will be announced. For those wishing to honor Stella’s memory with a donation in her name, please consider the First United Methodist Church of Mertzon, Hospice of San Angelo, the Concho Valley Fellowship of Christian Athletes or another local charity.
1 Corinthians, Verse 13: And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
