How does one capture the incredible, varied, and fascinating life of John (Curly) Stahler in one document? One likely does not, but here are the highlights:

John Francis Stahler was born on June 10, 1938 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was then adopted by Chuck and Bernice Stahler. John grew up a very precocious child. Later "acquiring" 3 younger sisters, he took his responsibilities very seriously and was a (fairly) good child. He became active in the Sea Scouts, played numerous sports, and charmed all those around him, especially the ladies. His family owned a cabin on Ten Mile Lake where he spent summers in constant movement, including teaching himself how to pole vault.

John's family moved west to California and settled in Pacific Palisades where he attended University High School with his lifetime friends Terry Thomas and Chris Barker. It was here that he was given the name "Curly" due to his stick straight hair. His passion for Basketball and pole-vaulting were curated and he broke numerous High School records in the latter.

John was accepted into numerous colleges and chose to attend Stanford University, which became one of his lifelong passions where he played basketball, ran track, and pole-vaulted.  He called himself "the last of the 5'6" white guys" on the basketball court. While possibly true, he knew it was not politically correct anymore to say, but, well we knew John he would say it anyway 😉.

While at Stanford University, John pledged the Sigma Chi fraternity his freshman year. This turned out to be a seminal moment in his life where he made tremendous friendships in his brotherhood that he maintained until the end. He was so pleased that at least one of his children attended Stanford Sigma chi reunions with him each year. This year marks the 50th reunion gathering for the Sigma Chi class of 1960. John was sad to know he would need to miss it, given his declining health.

After Stanford John completed medical school at USC and his medical residency at LA's General Hospital where he met his future wife, Cathy Riutta. Within a few years they were married and eventually had three children: Kimberly Mae, David Leonard, and Gregory John. They were married for 22 years and lived in Los Altos for most of these years where he set up shop in nearby Mountain View as an Orthopedic Surgeon right next to Saint Francis high school where his children later attended. He practiced medicine for 55 years retiring just this past December where he was most recently assisting as a Neurosurgeon.

Prior to having children, John was "asked to serve" in Vietnam as a surgeon. A true Hawkeye Pierce (M.A.S.H), he cracked as many jokes as he could in a terrible situation. He kept a diary during his one year stay and Kim and Cathy later helped to publish it for him as a Father's Day present. He was very proud of this book, recently updating it. The book has been studied by students at numerous schools, including Saint Francis high school, and has been distributed to thousands of veterans (and all acquaintances) throughout the years.

John was an avid reader and writer. He collected thousands of books over the years and read, took notes, and circled typos in each one. He had an incredibly voracious appetite to learn about every subject under the sun from medicine, to Darwinism, to Saturn, to insects, and much more. You name it, it was in his bookcases at the end. He truly had a beautiful mind.

During his adult life, John was a devoted tennis player, often found on the tennis court at Los Altos Golf and Country Club. He played and won numerous tournaments, including several mixed doubles tournaments with his daughter, Kim. John also continued to play basketball for many years and coached Kim's basketball team at St. William's in middle school. He continued to play tennis up until late last year with his long-time friend and prior neighbor John Becker.

His other love was the water. Growing up as a Sea Scout, he loved boats and water. He learned to windsurf at the age of 45 and fell in love. He could be found out in the waters off Coyote Point marina long after we all felt he should. He was such an incredible athlete and had engineered the sport so well that he enjoyed it until he was 70 years old, both here in California and at his longtime Minnesota cabin on Ten Mile Lake.

John's final sporting chapter included sculling. He created a rig, hoisted it up on his 1972 VW bug, and headed to shoreline pond most weekday mornings before anyone else could disturb him (or tell him he couldn't). He would constantly brag about 'bettering' his time across the pond. It's surprising he never went into the negative numbers considering how well he always did. It was a beautiful sport to watch. It was a perfect athletic vehicle to get him through his 80's when he finally hung up his oars.

In his most recent years, and up until two months ago, he walked. He walked one mile to Safeway, hauling back heavy bags of Pepsi and soup, and he walked one mile in the opposite direction to  a PAMF, a local medical clinic where he needed more and more check-ins. One of John's favorite life mottos was: "We exercise to exorcise our extra size". This definitely described much of who he was.

John adored his Mountain View home, where he moved soon after the divorce, and where he spent his final 30 years. In this community, he found friends, ways to contribute and stay active (serving on the board of the HOA, mending numerous mailboxes and bridges without being asked, etc.), and taking care of his pride and joy, the tennis courts.  There (and in Hawaii), he taught many, many children to play - some even launching competitive tennis careers based on John's gift of the love of tennis.

John will be sorely missed by so many. He was definitely one-of-a-kind. He had a huge heart and a quick wit, always delivering what he considered to be a funny pun. He was alone with Kim at the end of his life and yet knew he was loved by many. When he knew it was his time, he cried, saying "I love everyone". We all felt it. We all hope that he is finally resting in peace, although we know better.

John is survived by Kim, Estranged David, and John's 7 grandchildren.