Pine Plains bids farewell to former supervisor

PINE PLAINS — Talk to anyone living in Pine Plains and the answer is sure to be the same — they knew Jerry Stuetzle.

That’s not surprising, since Stuetzle lived in the small town for seven decades. He moved here with his family in 1936. This week Pine Plains is mourning Stuetzle, who died last Thursday, July 30,  at the age of 80, of respiratory failure while at Sharon Health Care Center in Sharon, Conn.

“I guess I just want [people to remember] what a good guy he’s always been,� said Shirley Remsburger, Stuetzle’s neighbor of 70 years. “He’s always done things for everyone and he’ll be sorely missed. No doubt about it, he’ll be missed in this town.�

With the proper name of Jerome F. Stuetzle, born in Queens, on Jan. 19, 1929, Stuetzle moved to Pine Plains with his family when he was just 7. He went on to graduate from Pine Plains Central School in 1948. From there he served as sergeant with the United States Army during the Korean War. When he returned he married the late Irene Doyle. She predeceased him on Aug. 11, 1993.

Just as he lived next to (and in earlier years across the street from) Remsburger, his wife lived across the street from Remsburger’s husband, Louis.

“We lived across from each other for years and years, and so did my husband and Irene. We were always good friends with each other,� she said. “We did things together, like our first communion, which was here at St. Anthony’s. He was always active in the town and church.�

In fact, Stuetzle was a deacon at the Catholic Church for many years as well as town supervisor for 30 years, from 1963 to 1985 and then again from 1992 to 1999.

“He  became the town supervisor the year I was born, in 1963. He was obviously the first person in politics I’ve ever known. He was also one of the earliest members of the Pine Plains Rescue Squad — he helped get it off the ground,â€� said town Supervisor Gregg Pulver. “He was one of those guys that lived his life for the town. You could always approach him. He was a great man, very well respected.â€�

“I sat on the  board with Jerry for two terms and always thought he was a very good supervisor. He did a very good job,â€� said Councilwoman Dorean Gardner.

“He was so ingrained in the community, we just knew all about him, although some people thought maybe he was a little gruff, but that wasn’t the case,� Pulver said. “He was just so committed to the community, when you asked him a question he called it like it was, he didn’t care about public opinion. He called things the way they were and that was that.

“But he was always very good to me,� Pulver continued. “That’s who I took over from when he decided not to run. The first person I went to was Jerry to make sure I would have his backing and support. He was very caring and very open.�

Stuetzle, who worked as a senior staff engineer for IBM in Poughkeepsie, also worked in the family’s stained-glass business in Pine Plains, both before and after working for Big Blue. Aside from being a church deacon and a member of the Lions Club, he was also a post commander of the American Legion Post #426 and past captain of the Pine Plains Rescue Squad, as well as former trustee of the Pine Plains Hose Company.

He was predeceased by a brother and two sisters; he is survived by two sons, two grandchildren, three sisters and three brothers and many friends.

“We always just bonded, there’s no doubt about it,â€�  Remsburger said. “There was always a big connection between us, and this is a great loss to loads of people.â€�

“He was very involved in Pine Plains,� Gardner said of him, remembering his time as supervisor and as an active, productive citizen. “He loved Pine Plains, but now he’s in a better place.�

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