3/1/24. Not many of our teachers are with us at this point in our lives, but one who was still very active in Ann Arbor until earlier this year was Jay Stielstra. Even those of us who didn’t have him as a history and social studies teacher at AAHS knew who “Coach Stielstra” was, especially after the Pioneers became state football champions in 1962. Gary Baker, Donald Hill and Bill Wood were on that winning team as sophomores.
But Jay was a lot more than either of those roles. Right up to his 90th year, he was a songwriter, playwright, poet, author, performer, and carpenter. Highly influential in the Ann Arbor music scene, performing many times at the Ark, he wrote more than 180 songs on topics covering love, nature, social injustice, the beauty of his beloved Northern Michigan, and more.
On hearing of Jay’s passing, Jackie Poszywak Sage said, “He was a friend and major figure to many of us”, and some of our classmates went to the memorial for Jay on June 15 at Pioneer High School. The service turned out to be an outstanding concert of Jay's songs, along with spoken tributes. Some of our classmates who were there were Camille Procassini, David Slee, John Yablonky, Nancy McArtor, Marcia Stegath Dorr, teacher Jess Kauffman, and Pam Ufer Wood. Bill Wood was one of the speakers and David Menefee was one of 16 musicians who performed.
“Ah, it was a grand life I had……just one big love affair.” This line from a one-man folk musical Jay wrote, “North Country Opera”, captures the way his family and friends say that Jay felt about his own life, and if you were fortunate enough to be around him, some of that rubbed off on you, too.
You can view Jay's obituary here.
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