Sarah Margaret Stubaus

Sarah Margaret Dunning Stubaus (“Maggie”) died peacefully in her sleep at Seabrook Senior Living Community in Tinton Falls, New Jersey on November 15, 2023. She was 106. Maggie was born at home in Jersey City, New Jersey on May 30, 1917 to Robert Stone Dunning and Annie Walton Hankin Dunning and lived most of her life in New Jersey. Having lived through the Great Depression, she never took anything for granted. She did not complain and is remembered for her can-do attitude and delightful sense of humor. She was an animal lover who took in stray cats as a child. As a retiree she stayed on top of technology and was the first in her family to set up an email address. She was also known for finishing the New York Times crossword puzzles with a pen, not a pencil. As the matriarch of her family, she was an example of strength, humor and a positive attitude. Maggie met Ken Stubaus at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church’s annual picnic in Jersey City, NJ when they were each just 16. Soon they were walking to high school together every day and signing up for the same classes. Maggie went on to become a nurse, and Ken an accountant. Ken proposed on Christmas Eve 1938 and they were married on October 1, 1939 at the church where they had met. They raised their four children, Judy, Bruce, and twins Karen and Sharon in Demarest, NJ. They tended their enormous vegetable garden, were active in the church, and Maggie also did much sewing and embroidery. After their children were grown, she earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing in 1970 before returning to work as a school nurse at Brookside Elementary School in Westwood, NJ. She liked to say that she was a grandmother before she was a “Bachelor.” In retirement Maggie visited Australia where she loved holding a koala bear and snorkeling on the barrier reef (not at the same time, she pointed out). She also enjoyed visiting Kenya and Tanzania to see giraffes, lions and cheetahs on the reserves. Margaret was predeceased by her husband Kenneth Lester Stubaus, sisters Grace and Pat, and her daughter Sharon Hoverman. She is survived by her daughter Judy Sproul, son Bruce Stubaus (Valerie Stubaus), daughter Karen Stubaus (Steve Goldfarb), her seven grandchildren Kim Sproul, Kate Sproul, Tracy Popolizio (Nick Popolizio), Samantha Schadtle (Rob Schadtle), Sarah Farrell (Jeremy Farrell), Adam Goldfarb (Erika Ruberry) and Rachel Goldfarb. She is also survived by her seven great-grandchildren Alexis [Lexie], Daniel, Grace, Robert [Robi], Henry [Hank], Graham, and Aidan. Most important, she was greatly loved, and will be greatly missed. Funeral services will be held on Saturday January 13, 2024 at St. Luke's Episcopal Church at 17 Oak Avenue in Metuchen. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. Service at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Margaret’s memory to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Metuchen.

Sarah Margaret Stubaus

May 30, 1917 - November 15, 2023