Mary Lou (Niblock) Stackhouse

Mary Lou (Niblock) Stackhouse of Elkhart passed away peacefully on April 30, 2020, at the Greenleaf Health Campus. She was 92. 

Mary Lou was born on May 12, 1927, in Elkhart to the late William and Frances (Norcross) Niblock. Her husband of 67 years, Robert Allen Stackhouse, preceded her in death. Her sister, Frances Gray; brother, Robert Niblock; and step-sister, Marian Lauver also preceded her in death. 

She is survived by her three loving daughters, Frances Ruth Bolte (Martin), Olympia, Wash.; Carol Jean Crosbie (John), Bristol; and Sue Anne Yoder (Rick), Casco, Wis.; eight cherished grandchildren; and 10 treasured great-grandchildren.

Mary Lou graduated from Elkhart High School in 1945—a proud alumna who always looked forward to her reunions. She married her high school sweetheart, Robert, on Dec. 29, 1946. Then they moved to West Lafayette, Ind., where they had two of their three daughters, Frances and Carol. In 1950, they returned to Elkhart. They had their third daughter, Sue, in 1954. It was just three months later when they moved to California, where the Stackhouse family spent more than a decade making wonderful memories and life-long friends (and, as Mary Lou liked to point out, meeting celebrities). They returned to Elkhart permanently in 1967. 

She devoted much of her time throughout her long life to supporting local organizations, such as the Junior Chamber of Commerce in Culver City, Calif., where she helped start classes for special needs adults; and the Daughters of the American Revolution-William Tuffs Chapter in which she was a proud member for 50 years. She also served for 38 years on the Elkhart General Hospital Auxiliary, where she started the Red Coats program and was president. She was an active member of Riverside Book Club, and both Bob and Mary Lou were longtime members of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Elkhart. 

Mary Lou was known and loved for so much more than these facts. There are rumors that she let her daughters stay home from school when it rained (it almost never rained in southern California) and snuck in shopping bags, telling the girls, “Don’t tell Daddy.” For those lucky enough to call Mary Lou, Grandma, we experienced tap dances in the kitchen, the kitchen mouse, the treasure trove of fun in the basement, THE corn casserole, and so much more. To her many friends, she was widely known as the “hostess with the mostest” who could serve three-course dinners as well as throwing a murder-mystery party. She will always be remembered, loved and missed because there is only one Mary Lou Stackhouse. 

Visitation and memorial services for Mary Lou will be held at a later date. Hartzler-Gutermuth-Inman Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.

Memorials in Mary Lou’s name can be made to St. John’s Episcopal Church, 226 W. Lexington, Elkhart (Indiana 46516).

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mary Lou (Niblock) Stackhouse, please visit our floral store.