David Harold Stiel, Jr. Funeral Services will be conducted for Mr. David Harold Stiel, Jr, at 1:00 P.M. Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at St. Marys Episcopal Church, 805 First Street, Franklin, La. with Rev. Francis Daunt officiating. Visitation will be Monday March 23, 2009 from 6:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. at St. Marys Church and will resume Tuesday at the Church from 10:00 A.M. until service time. Interment will follow at the Franklin Cemetery. David Harold Stiel, Jr., 83 , a resident of Franklin, died on Friday, March 20, 2009. He was born in Huntington, Pennsylvania, on June 22, 1925. He is survived by his wife of sixty-one years, Patricia Palfrey Stiel. He has four children, Elizabeth Patterson Stiel McKee, David Harold Hal Stiel, III and his wife Tonya, and Donelson Palfrey Stiel, Sr. and his wife Tracey, all of Franklin, and Susan Palfrey Stiel Crosby and her husband Harry James Crosby, Sr., of Mandeville; his grandchildren, Elizabeth Beth Palfrey McKee, Allison Todd Stiel, Sally Palfrey Stiel, Stacey Gates Stiel, Harry James Crosby, Jr., Patricia Palfrey Crosby, Courtney Stiel Crosby, Margaret Linnette Crosby, Caroline Susan Stiel, Donelson Palfrey Stiel, Jr., Katelyn Murphy Stiel, and one great grandchild, Aidan Rose Tyler, and two step-grandchildren, Kennedi Walden and Kameron Walden. Stiel was preceded in death by his parents David Harold Stiel and Nell Kahn Stiel, of Franklin; and one brother Leon Kahn Stiel, of Baton Rouge. Pallbearers for the funeral are Harry James Crosby, Sr., Harry James Crosby, Jr., Donelson Palfrey Stiel, Jr., E. J. Champagne, Jr., Dr. Thomas F. Kramer, and Alfred S. Lippman. Honorary pallbearers are Thomas Spry, Governor M.J. Mike Foster, Jr., Judge Edward A. delaHoussaye, III, Isaac Theriot, and Judge Robert M. Fleming. Special caregivers for Mr. Stiel were Sophia Willis, Gail Adams, Nadean Carr, Marvel Peltier, Rose Thomas, Rev. Nelson Davis, Jr., and A. J. Hot Rod Schahn. In 1956 Stiel founded the David H. Stiel, Jr. Agency in Franklin. He served as President and CEO of one of Louisianas largest independent insurance agency networks in South Louisiana, with other Stiel Agency locations in Metairie, Lafayette, Morgan City, Baldwin, and Hammond. Since 1956, David Stiel, Jr. was active, and an innovator, in the insurance industry. He served as a former past chairman of the CNA Insurance New Orleans Branch Pacer Group and the Reliance Insurance Pinnacle Club. He was a real estate broker in Franklin and headed one of the oldest real estate agencies in the Franklin area with David H. Stiel Real Estate and Baldwin Realty in Baldwin. During World War II he served on active duty in the Pacific Theater with the U.S. Marine Corps. From 1943 to 1946 he served with the HQ and Service Battalion of the III Amphibious Corps in New Caledonia and Guadalcanal, and he participated in the landings on Guam and Okinawa, and in the surrender of enemy forces in northern China. Stiel has devoted a lifetime to community service in St. Mary Parish. As a former Marine he was an active participant in the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program, where he served as founder and Chairman of the Toys for Tot program in Franklin. Stiel served as a member of the Governors Military Advisory Commission for the State of Louisiana. He was a board member of the Civilian Steering Committee of the Marine Support Group of New Orleans. He was founder of the Bayou Teche Detachment #751 of the Marine Corps League, and served as its Commandant. He was a member of the Military Order of Devil Dogs, the National Marine Corps League, the China Marine Association, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Stiel was honored as the recipient of the Marine Corps League Distinguished Service Award for Meritorious Service. In addition, he received the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Support of Toys for Tots. After the war, he attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and returned to Franklin. Before founding his insurance business, he was employed at Cabot Corporations Canal Plant where he was in charge of hiring. He then worked at Commercial Bank and Trust Company in Franklin before embarking on his insurance career. Stiel was a member of the St. Mary Parish Civil War Battleground Park Commission. He served as president of the St. Mary Parish Civil War Centennial Commission from 1961 to 1965. He served on the Civil War Centennial Commission from 1961 to 1965, and served on the Acadiana Civil War Roundtable. Stiel was as a Director of the former First Commercial Bank and Commercial Bancshares Holding Corporation, Secretary of Commercial Bancshares Inc., and was an advisory director of the former Hibernia National Bank. In 1993, Stiel was the recipient of the West St. Mary Parish Chamber of Commerce Golden Service Award and was also awarded the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award in 2003. Prior to the formation of the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce, he was a member of the Franklin Businessmens Club. He was a member of the West St. Mary Chamber of Commerce and the St. Mary Parish Chamber Commerce. He served as the Grand Marshal of the West St. Mary Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade in 1994. He was a charter member and first president of the St. Mary Chapter of Louisiana Landmarks Society, a member of the Franklin Historical Society, a former member of the Franklin Rotary Club, a member of the Franklin Lodge #57 F&AM Masonic Order, and a member of St. Marys Episcopal Church where he served as a Vestry Board member. He was a past president of the Franklin PTA Club. He was also a sponsor of Franklin Little League and Biddy Basketball teams. He was a charter member of the St. Mary Parish LSU Alumni Association. He also served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1964 and on the St. Mary Parish Republican Executive Committee. He was a past District Commissioner for the Boy Scouts of America. In addition, he was a member of the Krewe of Sucrose Carnival Club where he was King Sucrose XXII. The family requests that remembrances be made to St. Marys Episcopal Church, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, 875 North Randolph Street, Suite 225, Arlington , VA 22203-1977, or to the charity of choice. David Funeral Home, 400 Provost Street, Jeanerette, La. (337)276-5151 is in charge of arrangements
