Colette Stelman

Tuesday, May 4, 2021, Colette C Stelman beloved sister, mother, grandmother, and friend peacefully passed away.  She left this earth surrounded by her family in her home in Rockledge, Florida.

She was born in St Louis, Missouri, the baby of eleven children in a 2^nd generation German family.   Her father and one brother passed away when she was young and was raised by her mother, seven brothers, and two sisters. 

Colette enjoyed life. We share memories of times that she would sit and talk sharing her words and insight on many subjects.  She enjoyed sitting and chatting with everyone.  She had a funny sense of humor, and great wisdom to share. Many benefited from her talks at the table.

She met Richard Stelman on a blind date and then married April, 16, 1955 at Seven Holy Founders Church.  They enjoyed a wonderful life together raising four children in St Louis. A job promotion took the family to Titusville, Florida in December, 1967.  The move was exciting but also difficult for the close knit family.

 Florida held many experiences.  At her first job at Burger Chef, she met new friends that took her shrimping for the first time.  Mom and Dad jumped on this new fishing experience and many of our family members benefitted both in experiences as well as new food.  The trips on the boat with Coleman lanterns and fishing nets yielded anything from zero to pounds of the little delicacies.  Mom was a member of Phi Theta Kappa while in college and was the first of her siblings to earn a college degree.  Her careers were grounded in Titusville.  She worked for the Florida Highway Patrol during which time her husband passed away.  Members of the highway patrol honored his passing by attending his funeral.  This was a gesture she never forgot.  Mom loved volunteering at the Canaveral National Seashore.  She garbed up in mosquito netting and headed out to guide in the nightly Turtle Watch Program.   She finished her career as a Certified Professional Secretary with the Brevard County Clerk of the Courts.

She loved to travel.  Most of her vacations were trips home to St Louis to see family.  These trips were the happiest since the family missed everyone.  She did travel with her daughter-in-law Judy to Spain to visit Tim where she ate a half a jar of Spanish olives while touring on a bus.  The memories continued when she took a trip to Ireland with her sisters.  Singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” with one sister on the back of the tour bus stuck and sinking in a deluge of rain water while the other sister was panicking at the front of the bus. She went on a spelunking adventure with her brother, Vic, at Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.  At one point, she was stuck in a tight passage between caves.  Laughing, as she did, she managed to back out of the passage, push her back against the far wall, and popped into a beautiful cave of stalactites and stalagmites.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.