Frieda Lou Stengel

Known for her kindness, generosity, warmth and strength, Frieda Stengel, 91, of Cedarburg passed away on October 10 in Cedarburg, surrounded by family singing her favorite campfire and Christmas songs. Our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend to so many, is dearly missed by all of us.

The youngest of eight children, Frieda Sloan was born on May 23, 1933, in rural Rowan County, North Carolina. She attended Landis High School and received her RN from Cabarrus Memorial Hospital. While working as a nurse at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, she met Ted Stengel on a blind date in 1955. They married several months later and started their family in 1957. Ted and Frieda moved to Cedarburg with their four children in 1963. Frieda was a comforting and compassionate nurse who held a variety of positions in hospitals, physician practices, and nursing homes.

Although she came from very humble beginnings, she was keenly aware of those who had less. She firmly believed that giving to and caring for others is its own reward. Many charitable organizations benefited from Frieda’s countless hours and years of service, including community health programs, pregnant moms and families in need, unhoused people, senior citizens, House of Peace, St. Francis Borgia Catholic Church, Cedarburg Public Library, the Cedarburg Community Scholarship Fund, and friends and residents at the Lasata Senior Campus (where she worked as the night RN in the 1970s).

In their retirement, Frieda and her husband Ted embraced a life of adventure, traveling extensively across the United States and into Canada in their RV. Many winters were spent in the warmth of the Southwest, while summers were enjoyed at their cherished lake house, fondly named the “Hustissippi Hideaway.” It became a gathering place for family and friends, where days were filled with boating, swimming, tubing and fishing, and evenings featured Frieda’s famous home cooked meals. Her recipes, loved by all, were impossible to replicate with quite the same magic. Evenings often ended with lively card games of “Hand & Foot.”

Frieda had an innate ability to listen, offering comfort and sage advice to those in need. She had a quick wit and was always ready with a clever remark. An avid gardener, her love for perennial gardening was evident in the array of plants that filled her home’s yard, many of which continue to thrive in the gardens of friends and family.

Frieda is survived by Ted, her loving husband of 69 years; her children Debbie (Mike) Depies, Terrie Stengel (Fred Sierles), Kevin (Maureen) Stengel and Linda Stengel (widow of Dick Kinch); her six grandchildren Andrew (Alison) Eggert, Kimberly (Dan) Corash, Amanda Depies, Kaitlyn Depies, Aidan Stengel and Fintan Stengel; and four great-grandchildren Adelie, Jasper, Sophie and Molly, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

At her request, no funeral mass or visitation will be held.

In lieu of flowers, Frieda requested that donations be made to either of her favorite service organizations: Feed the Hungry or Mr. Bob’s Under the Bridge.

We are grateful for all the support we received from family and friends, Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s, and Horizon Hospice.