Tuck Stadler remembered for warmth

By Sarah Halliday
newsroom@riverdalepress.com

Maury “Tuck” Stadler, long time journalist and Riverdale resident, passed away as the result of lymphoma complications on July 10. He was 87.

The dynamic broadcast journalist worked in the field for 50 years, witnessing pivotal points in American history such as the Japanese surrender to Gen. Douglas MacArthur in World War II and riots in Harlem after the assassination of Malcom X.

In the early years of his career, he was part of the Marshall Plan efforts for the recovery of Europe after World War II, in Paris. He soon found himself writing for Stars and Stripes, a military newspaper, in West Germany. From there he snuck into East Germany, traveling in the trunk of a close friend’s car so he could report from behind the Iron Curtain.

In 1953 he moved to Kansas City to work on the Kansas City Star and the St. Louis Dispatch. He met his wife Evalyn at a Unitarian church youth group there. They were married within a year.

“She wasn’t a journalist, but she shared his passion for news,” said son Gustavus Stadler. “She would read the New York Times from front to cover every day.”

After marrying, the couple moved to Oklahoma, where Maury worked as a TV news reporter and news director. He and Evalyn had their first two children, Priscilla and Frances, in Oklahoma City. The next stop for the family was New York, where they discovered Riverdale and stayed for the next 33 years.

Riverdale suited Mr. Stadler.

“He liked the combination of the woodsiness and the community feeling,” said daughter Priscilla. “He was a connective person, and he reached out to people and they returned in kind, and he had a good community of friends.”

Once in Riverdale, he found work at 1010WINS as a nighttime anchor, editor and announcer. There he had the opportunity to interview Harry S. Truman on controversial issues such as civil rights.

Mr. Stadler was a freelance journalist from 1975 to 1995, working as a writer and editor at ABC, CBS and NBC.

Longtime neighbors Mel and Edith Cornfield remember Mr. Stadler with fondness.

“He was an absolutely wonderful neighbor. He would knock himself out to be helpful to anyone,” Ms. Cornfield said.

The couple remembers evenings with the Stadlers: chatting, debating, having a beer or two.

“At one point or another, someone would pull out an encyclopedia. He was very interested in history,” said Ms. Cornfield said.

Gustavus Stadler remembers his father’s ability to make anyone comfortable, and his pleasure in making his family laugh.

After their children had grown, the Stadlers moved to Maryland to be closer to their grandson.

Maury Stadler is survived by his wife Evalyn, son Gustavus; daughters Priscilla and Frances; and grandson Christophe Itsweire.

Mr. Stadler was cremated, and there will be a memorial service for him in Silver Spring, Md., in November.

For more information, call Gustavus Stadler at 267-237- 0852.

This is part of the July 30, 2009 online edition of The Riverdale Press.