Martha J. Stenftenagel, age 88, of Jasper, Indiana, passed away peacefully at home at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
Martha was born in Ireland, Indiana, on August 15, 1935, to Albert Sr. and Cecelia (Dick) Schnaus. She married Joseph H. Stenftenagel on May 3, 1956, in St. Mary Catholic Church in Ireland, Indiana. He preceded her in death on December 28, 2022.
She was a 1953 graduate of Ireland High School. Martha was the basketball homecoming queen her freshman year and basketball homecoming attendant her senior year. She was an officer of her sophomore class and was the assistant editor of the high school yearbook. Martha was spelling bee champion and was salutatorian of her graduating class.
She was a homemaker and had worked at the Jasper Glove Factory and Leeds in Ireland, Indiana.
She was a member of St. Mary Catholic Church in Ireland, Indiana, where she was on the prayer chain, and she was a member of the St. Ann’s Society.
Martha was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. She loved working alongside the love of her life, Joe, on the farm. She was a seamstress and enjoyed planting flowers and working in and mowing the yard and bird watching, and loved to cook and bake, being most known for her triple layer blackberry cobbler.
She was an avid sports fan and especially enjoyed attending her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren’s sporting events. She enjoyed bowling with her husband Joe, and they were members of the Ireland couples mixed bowling league.
Surviving are two daughters, Sherry (Michael) Stork, Jasper, Kim (Daniel) Herzog, Jasper, two sons, Rick (Cathy) Stenftenagel, Jasper, Brian (Theresa) Stenftenagel, Jasper, 14 grandchildren, Aaron (Amy) Stenftenagel, Derick (Keisha) Stenftenagel, Kirk (Audra) Stenftenagel, Andrea (Matt) Karweck, Josh (Molly) Stenftenagel, Justin (Andrea) Stenftenagel, Kyla (Matt) Konkey, Alexa (Jacob) Ricks, Nikki Popp, Bethany (Chris) Lubenow, Bradley (Leah) Stork, Brittany (Nathan) Wagner, Mason Herzog, and Summer Herzog, 25 great-grandchildren, one sister, Annie Burger, Jasper, IN, three sisters-law, Dorena “Becky” Schnaus, Jasper, IN, Rosie Schnaus, Ireland, IN, and Rita Goeppner, Ireland, IN.
Preceding her in death besides her husband are one sister, Betty (Jim) Shelley, and seven brothers, Leroy (Dorothy), Sylvester (Francis), Virgil, Robert, Albert Jr. (Irma), Larry, and Edward Schnaus.
A Mass of Christian Burial for Martha J. Stenftenagel will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, at St. Mary Catholic Church in Ireland, Indiana, with burial to follow in the church cemetery.
A visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. until the 11:00 a.m. Mass time at St. Mary Catholic Church on Tuesday.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Mary Catholic Church or to a favorite charity.
Online condolences may be made at www.becherkluesner.com.
