Laura Dell (Weaver) Stoffels

Mass of Christian Burial for Laura Dell (Weaver) Stoffels of Muenster was held at 10:00 AM on Monday, August 18, 2025 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Rosary was held at 6:00 PM on Sunday, August 17, 2025 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Mrs. Stoffels passed away on Saturday, August 9, 2025. Laura was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. To most people who knew her well and her family she was called “Wally”. She was born in Fort Worth to William “Willy” and Dorothy Elena (Prather) Weaver. Laura came from a large family with 4 siblings. If you were in their house in the old days, you could hear her mother chanting her wakeup call of “Becky, Buddy, Laura, Carol, Terry, it’s time to get up, it’s time to get up, it’s time to get up in the morning.” She would continue this chant until each child was awake. Laura grew up in a military family. They moved from various locations until settling in Saint Jo before her Junior High years. She would graduate from Saint Jo and attend MSU for some time before getting her RN from Cooke County Community College, now known as NCTC. She married Stephen “Chick” Stoffels a year later and moved to Muenster. She would go on to get her bachelor’s in nursing from TWU in the nineties and pursue her master’s degree in nursing at MSU in the 2000’s. She was committed to lifelong learning. Some of her hobbies included sewing, knitting, and compiling family tree information. The whole family tree mapping started because of a class project she helped James with for a biology class at Muenster Public School. Laura became a nurse in 1978. Some of the qualities that nurses possess include compassion, empathy, strong communication skills, critical thinking, and the ability to work under pressure. Laura displayed these traits daily. She was like an encyclopedia of knowledge when it came to health. She used her talents at work and at home to help people in need. Laura held various positions over the years at Muenster, Gainesville, Denton, and various home health care organizations. She ultimately retired from the Denton State Supported living facility in 2020. She then performed home health on a part-time basis until accepting a position with Sacred Heart Church helping with various duties including assisting with funerals and weddings. Family was everything to Laura. When Jerry and James were young, she often coached T-ball, boy scouts, and volunteered to teach CCD. Her number one hobby was supporting her family. When Jerry and James were young, she would try to take them on vacation every year. On one vacation they almost made the news. On a vacation to Washington DC, she had purchased some tickets to the White House that also had a bus trip thrown in with it. Turns out it was illegal to sell tickets to the White House, and when they showed up for the bus tour, they saw the people who sold them the tickets getting arrested. She did not always feel well later in life but always found the energy to attend any event involving her family. Chick would say, “she laid around the house like she could barely move, but when it was time to go to an event, she jumped up and all but ran out the door.” She could be counted on to take Allie to cross-country practice, attend Seth’s various sports events, Cole’s tennis matches, and Rylan’s school plays. Four years ago, Laura asked if her family would go on a vacation to New Mexico with her. The week they chose was the last week before school started. They had so much fun that first year that they decided to repeat the trip on an annual basis. They all looked forward to these trips, and they thought Wally loved being present with her family on these trips more than any specific sight or activity she did on these vacations. She also had an uncanny ability of winning at the casino in New Mexico. Laura could be counted on to go all out for holidays. She would have so many presents and so much food that Chick would insist on them taking much of the food home with Them. Her grandchildren would open so many presents they would often forget which ones were theirs. She even held on to the old ideas like eating black-eyed peas for new year’s. Laura was a people pleaser. James used to think that she did not like any of the presents he gave her. She never seemed impressed with the gifts she received. It was not until later in life that he realized her true joy was giving gifts to others. She was more concerned about others liking her presents than liking the ones she was given. Recently, they have found some past Christmas presents that they had given her. They were stored in her room unopened. One of the last conversations James had with Laura, she told me she was an enabler, and she liked to spoil people. Laura enabled her sons to be well-rounded men. She enabled her grandchildren to feel supported. She enabled Chick with her companionship and understanding. She enabled a community to feel the support she provided. She enabled her family to feel loved. She is loved and will be dearly missed. Laura is survived by her husband: Stephen “Chick” Stoffels of Muenster; sons: Jerry and wife Crystal Stoffels of Muenster, and James and wife Gina Lea Stoffels of Denton; grandchildren: Seth, Allie, Cole, and Rylan Stoffels; mother: Dorothy (Prather) Weaver of Saint Jo; brother: Buddy and wife Sherry Weaver of Gainesville; sisters: Carol and husband Jeff Harris of Saint Jo, and Terry Brawner of Saint Jo; and many beloved nephews and nieces. She was preceded in death by her father: William “Willy” Weaver; and sister: Rebecca “Becky” Weaver.

Laura Dell (Weaver) Stoffels

August 13, 1955 - August 9, 2025