Faithful Steward: Jerry Stueber Leaves a Legacy of Learning

The plastic bin is full of old photos and clippings from past newspaper articles, and Marjorie Stueber simply calls it "Jerry's box." If you were to assemble them and post them side by side they likely would cover the walls of their apartment at Tudor Oaks, and tell a story of a man committed to studying the stars as well as the earth, taking the pictures along the way.

Jerry passed away at the age of 83 on Feb. 4. He will be honored at a memorial service at Tudor Oaks retirement community in Muskego on Saturday, April 27 at 1 p.m. 

Jerry Stueber taught what he loved at Muskego High School from 1957 to 1990, including science, geology and astronomy, and was one of the school's inaugural staff of 18 instructors. Receiving the state's Teacher of the Year Award in 1978 was a proud and exciting moment for him, Marjorie explains, but it's obvious that his passion wasn't in collecting awards.

"He enjoyed teaching, and he loved astronomy," she says, looking for an elusive photo of the observatory that Jerry was instrumental in constructing at the high school. "He loved looking at the sky and the planets ... he even got his own telescope through a friend who worked for a bank. It was being repossessed, and it was $300, which was a lot of money at the time."

Marjorie says Jerry would invite astronomy students and anyone who wanted to catch a glimpse of the nighttime skies over to their home on Kelsey Drive. He would also form a photography club to share his interests in capturing the world on film.

"He'd wheel the telescope out from the garage onto the driveway when it was clear and he'd have class I guess you'd say," she laughs.

Jerry acquired another telescope and arranged for grant money from the National Science Foundation to help build the observatory at the high school in the early 1960s, and formed an astronomy club that met regularly to study the heavens.

He was a student for much of his time as a teacher as well, attending a summer institute at San Diego State, and earning a master's degree in physical science from Michigan State along the way.

His photography captured the world and the people that inhabited it. Majorie says he won awards for some of it, and Tudor Oaks recently held a gallery to display his work over the decades. One photo Jerry labeled "Faithful Steward," and Marjorie explains it's a picture of her father, although the title could aptly be applied to Jerry.

Although it wasn't about the awards, there are plenty of those on the walls as well, recognizing his passion for science and his students, many of whom took the time to write a heartfelt note on his obituary page, and many who themselves developed their interest in photography and science from Jerry.

"Mr. Stueber was my favorite teacher. Such an inspiration he was that I became a science teacher. He had a wonderful way in the classroom to show kindness and understanding all with a sense of humor," wrote former student Eileen Vesbach Freiberger.

Class of '82 grad Jeff Calvert remembered, "Little did I know, as a freshman in 1978, when I would answer his page for someone to photograph the varsity football game that afternoon, would I meet a man that would have such a profound impact on my life. Although I never had him as a formal teacher, he taught me so much. He once told me that photographers see more of the world."

Jerry's death ironically led to a rediscovery of the observatory at the high school, which stopped being used outside of school hours shortly after Jerry retired, and hopes are that it will again be used for stargazing. It will be renamed after the man who brought the stars to the students in an official ceremony yet to be determined.

Marjorie said that development, coupled with the knowledge that students carry on his love of learning, would be Jerry's greatest joy.