Joan Marie Stilson

Joan Stilson (née Sztukowski) passed away on September 3, 2026 after a 9 month illness. She was preceded in death by her husband, Scott Stilson, jr, her parents, Stanley and Marie Sztukowski, grandparents, and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. She is survived by her brother John (Lisette) Sztukowski of St. Louis, Mo and her sister, Jeanne (Jim) Dale of Bellevue, NE and several nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

She attended Notre Dame high school and St. Louis University graduating in 1968 with a degree in Political Science. She then moved to Washington DC where she worked for the CIA as a photo analyst. She was a master baker who taught her little sister all she knew about making cookies. She was very skillful at almost every craft that she tackled and gifted her family and friends with her creations at holidays and birthdays--most were really beautiful, although some were not so well received, like the tote bags she made for the pre-teen nephews with their names sewn on! She was an avid baseball fan who started out loving her home team of the St. Louis Cardinals, but once the teenage Joan saw the devastatingly handsome Sandy Koufax, she instantly made the switch to the Los Angeles Dodgers. She was a constant reader who loved British mysteries, as well as anything to do with American history or government. She loved the beach, but wouldn't go in the water! She and her husband moved to Punta Gorda, Florida in 1978 and built a new house and remained there until her passing . She had a great love of all things British and of all ducks, which she collected extensively to the point that they really took over her house! She also was passionate about her car—her first car that her dad bought for her-a 1965 Buick Skylark that she called Max. Still owned, running and loved by Joan after all these years.

There will be a funeral mass at St. Joan of Arc church on Monday, September 14, at 10 am with a lunch at Favazzas on the Hill to follow. Her husband, Scott was a veteran of the US Navy and served during WW II, so both his and Joan's ashes will be interred at the National Cemetery in Omaha, NE at a later date. Memorials can be directed to your local PBS station.