Richard “Dick” Stenzel
Born in Milwaukee, Dick Stenzel attended Shorewood High School, where he was an all-state football player and editor of the yearbook. Freshman year, he roomed in Vanderbilt with Ed Goodman, Bill Shipley, and Shorewood classmate Phil Roden. At Yale, Dick played varsity football and was a member of the undefeated 1960 team. Dick transferred to the class of ’63 after junior year, and graduated with a degree in civil engineering. After Yale, Dick returned to Milwaukee, where he had a successful career as an engineer and surveyor. He enjoyed gardening, dancing, reading, and bicycling, among other activities.
Dick’s high school classmate Bob Boelter saw Dick periodically in later years, and generously provided this account of the Dick he knew.
“It’s ironic that we know so little about him given that his most profound contribution to our 50th high school reunion was his finding information about classmates we lost. He’d track down obits, and in many occasions contact family members, some a few years and some decades after the loss of a loved one. He was successful because he delivered a sense of caring and sympathy and most would open up to him.
He mentioned to me how he grew to dislike the game of football, even though he was a successful high school player. Somewhere during college, he decided the game was high risk from a health perspective and for the rest of his life he no longer enjoyed it as a fan or spectator.
He was very health conscious. Most of us attending the reunion-planning lunch meetings would notice Dick would not partake of the food or beverages. He preferred to drink his own concoction of fruits and vegetables (I think) that he brought with him. That is, until he admitted he grew to love the Ensure brand of chocolate and vanilla health drinks.
I was surprised to learn that he belonged to a club of Flamenco ballroom dancers. He mentioned coming to the Madison area for dances. The group had to move around as they sought rentable dance floors.
Another aspect of healthy activity for Dick was the recombinant bike he rode all over Milwaukee.
Around the time between our 60th and 65th reunions, Dick was retained as a consulting engineer for the City of Milwaukee. His job was to validate the quality of work as the construction of the new street car system (called “The Hop”) was nearing completion.
Knowing I was a train buff he drove out to Lake Mills in his ancient Honda Civic to give me a chunk of rail left over from The Hop’s construction. It now resides with other artifacts in our garden.
Most of us who worked with Dick on reunion committees learned there were times when he could be difficult to get in touch with. On one particular occasion we went for weeks, receiving “mailbox is full” email responses and unanswered phone calls. Finally, the concern about his well-being was overwhelming. I called the Milwaukee Police Department to learn if they could check on his well-being. They did, and reported back that he came to the door. Shortly, Dick gave me a sheepish call. He said when he is busy, he doesn’t waste time dealing with emails and phone calls.
Clearly Dick was highly focused on tasks at hand.”
Dick passed away peacefully at the age of 84, in the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
[Many thanks to Phil Roden, who contributed information to this obituary and recruited Bob Boelter to contribute his account.]
— Lee Bolman