By Sarah May
Stan Woell, a long-time town cottager and dedicated Camp volunteer, passed into eternal glory to be with the Lord on Monday, August 4, 2025, at the age of 87. He lived a faith-filled life devoted to his family and in service to others.
Stan was first introduced to Camp Arcadia by his beloved wife of 64 years, Karla (Kretzmann), who has deep roots with Camp. Although Stan wasn’t impressed by his initial visit in the winter of 1969, he quickly grew to love this place as he volunteered at Opening Weekends and enjoyed playing tennis. By 1972, he was asked to fill in as Interim Director for the last six weeks of the summer. True to his character, Stan didn’t hesitate and answered the call to serve Camp, moving his young family of five into the Director’s apartment.
After careers in teaching in the building construction programs at Michigan State University and Michigan Technological University, as well as serving in ministry at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Holt, MI, Stan moved full-time to Arcadia in 2000 and dove into volunteer positions both at Camp and in the community. He volunteered as the bookkeeper at Camp for nine years while Karla served as Office Manager.
Stan was always precise, accurate, thorough, and reliable with his accounting work. He cared deeply about Camp and served with grace and humility. He was an incredible example of Christian love, faith, and patience to which we should all aspire.
In addition to his excellence in managing Camp’s finances, Stan dedicated much of his time to building projects around Camp. He installed a new roof on the Craft Shop and created the spacious deck surrounding it. His ingenuity and problem-solving skills were invaluable as he navigated working with limited resources and old buildings. During the Wigwam renovation, he restored all the Trading Post booths and built the new ones. He also did all the cabinetry work in the merchandise area and made several improvements to the newly expanded office. His final project at Camp was building four new tables in the Dining Room.
Stan was a master carpenter and construction engineer as well as a master person. In work, he worked harder than anyone I’ve ever known, and kept entirely to himself until I’d ask how to do this or that, and he’d patiently show me how. He was cheerful, quick to laugh, and very humble. In serious conversations, he was thoughtful and wise. For the past 25 years, I have been blessed by his friendship. To me, Stan was my role model of being a man.
While Stan’s building skills and work ethic were unmatched, he served with a humble and gentle spirit. He reveled in the satisfaction of a job well done and did not seek attention or praise for his work.
Stan exhibited his quiet strength with an unwavering faith that was not measured in force or volume, but was measured instead through his consistency, humility, and integrity of his Godly focus. While making important decisions regarding Camp’s major construction projects, he always pointed me back to Camp Arcadia’s mission. I admired his quiet and calm confidence, reassuring presence, and his courage in leadership. His quiet strength indeed let his faith in Christ speak loudly through his actions.
In his quiet way, Stan mentored many of Camp’s young staffers. Karl Shinninger got to know him well when he stayed one winter in Juniper Cottage, right next door to the Woells’ house. He has many great memories of playing ping-pong with Stan.
Stan Woell was an incredible person, and I feel blessed that he was a part of my life when I was a young adult working on staff at Camp Arcadia. Stan was a quiet, soft-spoken individual who listened more than he talked…a true sign of wisdom. His engineering mind and problem-solving skills were something that I immediately gravitated towards. During my year-long internship at Camp Arcadia, Stan helped me redesign the Trading Post ordering ticket, which may be part of the reason he earned free popcorn for life in the TP. I am forever thankful for his guidance, support, and patience.
Beyond serving at Camp, Stan shared his time and talents with many community organizations. He built churches with Laborers for Christ, trained volunteers to prepare taxes for seniors with AARP, assisted with the remodel of the Arcadia branch library, and was instrumental in the efforts to open the Arcadia Community Center. Always the morning person, Stan became the first building host at the community center, serving the early shift each weekday at 7:30 a.m.
At his core, Stan was a man of faith. He centered his life around his Christian beliefs. At Trinity Lutheran Church in Arcadia, he taught the Adult Bible Study weekly and helped with various projects. Even when enduring challenges that limited him physically, he continued to live with grace and contentment.
Stan Woell exemplified what I've come to think of as a "quiet saint." He trusted the Lord and went about his business in his various vocations as husband, father, builder, teacher, congregational member, and more. In visiting with Stan, I could always count on a broad smile and a deep faith. He was keen to discuss beloved hymns, familiar Scripture, and the needs of the church. In his love for Karla and his children and grandchildren, as well as his abiding love for his Lord, Stan showed me what it means to be a quiet saint. I'm grateful to have known him!
We give thanks to God for the many ways he used Stan to be a blessing to Camp Arcadia, the community, and his family.
Stan was a role model for me as a young Camp director just trying to figure out my roles as Camp director, husband, and father. Stan's intentional and principled approach to life inspired me to center my life on service to others and to God. Yet, while Stan was very hardworking, he was also a lot of fun. I have fond memories of playing tennis and cards with him. I give thanks to God for Stan's involvement in my life and for his service to Camp Arcadia's ministry.
Well done, good and faithful servant.
A memorial service will be held on August 24th at 3:00 pm at Trinity Lutheran Church in Arcadia. The service will be live-streamed at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZL8kQsoT4g.
Our thanks to the Camp Arcadia Archives and the Woell family for sharing photos with us!
One Response
I first met Stan Woell at Valparaiso University when I pledged Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity in 1960. He was a senior and I was a freshman. We became reacquainted when we started coming to Camp Arcadia in the late ‘70s. His service to Camp has been well documented and he and Karla were always glad to see us when we came to camp. Rest in peace, brother Stan.