Pallbearers carry Stalnaker to hearse at Stump Funeral Home
By Bob Weaver 2013
Rev. Tim Davis said, "Paul Stalnaker was a master math teacher, story teller and my mentor... a man who earned respect."
The well-known Calhoun teacher's funeral was held yesterday in Arnoldsburg, the funeral home filled with family and friends.
Davis (pictured left) recalled his days as a student of Stalnakers, and later as his contemporary as a teacher at Calhoun County High School.
Davis' eulogy recalled Stalnaker's brand of teaching and discipline, in which he saw love for teaching and love of his students.
"He was about fairness," when he controlled his classroom and administered discipline, said Davis, who named his paddle "Geritol," an over-the-counter medicine which old-timers took to liven them up.
When students just wouldn't participate or behave, he moved their seats to the "parking lot," a section to the side of the room, saying when they got interested in learning or behaving, he would be delighted to have them join the class activity.
"Most got interested, and returned, ready to work," said Davis.
"Those years are best remembered as the Stalnaker-(Donald) McCartney era, two teachers whose standards were high."
Stalnaker rests at the Sturm Cemetery at top of Millstone Hill
"Many Calhoun students and teachers will remember the famous boiler room, where most problems got solved," said Davis.
He said he visited Stalnaker in the hospital shortly before his death, taking him a bottle of Geritol.
Davis' comments reflected on a time in education now past, where the rules were much different.
Nearly all of Stalnaker's students now say they benefited from the toughness, which "We now believe was love," concluded Davis.
See "CALHOUN STUDENTS WERE THE GREATEST" - Educator Stalnaker Says "Country Boys Would Want To Whip Ya"
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