[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 11 (Thursday, February 12, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E180]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO JOHN STOEPLER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 12, 1998

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a remarkably able 
man dedicated to his family, his church, and his lifelong love of the 
profession of law. John Stoepler, professor of law, former Dean of The 
University of Toledo Law School, and interim President of the 
University, put the justice and betterment of others above all else. He 
died on January 19, 1998, at 66 years of age.
  In his early years, John attended school in Toledo, Ohio and then his 
high intelligence led him to the University of Notre Dame, where he 
took his first degree. He never forgot his roots, though, and after 
serving in the army and obtaining a master's degree in law from Yale, 
he came back to Toledo to teach and raise his family.
  His classes at the local university were the first to fill up because 
the students knew that John really wanted them to succeed. He greeted 
the challenge of teaching with energy and enthusiasm that was always 
evident. As former student Tom Pletz remembers, John welcomed each day 
of teaching with ``a twinkle in his eye.''
  The zest that John brought to his teaching was also found in the work 
he did for his church as parish operations manager. His love of 
education and respect for people of faith were combined when he sat on 
the education council of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo, an 
organization which oversees area Catholic schools.
  His commitment to education did not go unnoticed; he quickly ascended 
through the ranks at the university's law school, becoming dean in 1983 
and interim university president in 1988. He played an integral role in 
the expansion of the school both academically and strategically as the 
ground was broken for a new facility on its own corner of campus. He 
also became a member of the Ohio Supreme Court's commission on 
continuing legal education and of the national education development 
committee of the American Institute of Planners.
  Though he dabbled in politics as an extension of his respect for the 
lawmaking process, his own political campaigns were not successful. He 
was, however, appointed to many government positions in the city, 
county and state, and served the community with dignity and sagacity 
from those posts.
  Long time friend Rev. Robert Kirtland said that John thought of the 
ideal lawyer ``as a person of integrity.'' That certainly describes him 
and earned for him the deepest respect, from a community that will 
never forget him.
  Our thoughts are with his wife, Katherine; sons, John and Michael; 
daughter Charlotte; his brother and sister, Robert and Anne; and all of 
his grandchildren. It is our hope that they will be comforted by the 
prayers of a community bettered by his idealism, and a nation regirded 
in its fundamental precept of justice through law.

                          ____________________