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A celebration of his life will be at 2 p.m. Friday
at St. John United Church of Christ. Burial will
be at a later date.
Mr. Stahlhut was the administrator of Abraham
Lincoln Memorial Hospital until he retired in 1983.
He was a U.S. Army veteran.
He was born Feb. 2, 1918, on a farm in Madison
County to Paul and Ida Holt Stahlhut. He married
Jane Sherman on Feb. 14, 1941, in Oak Park.
He is survived by his daughters and sons-in-law,
Carolyn and Gerald Frank of Springfield, Barbara
Thake-Noel and Bill Noel of Bloomington, Margaret
"Peggy" and Mike Webster of Champaign, and Mary and
Bob Shattuck of Lincoln; six grandchildren, Dr. Mary
Beth Thake of Seattle, Wash., Nathan Frank of
Naperville, William Thake of Robbiate, Italy, Craig
Shattuck of Detroit, Mich., Emily Shattuck of
Bloomington and Maggie Shattuck, Lincoln; and two
great-grandchildren, Madelyn and Jonah Frank.
He was preceded in death by his wife; his
brother, Herbert; a son-in-law, Melvin Thake; and a
granddaughter, Marjorie Thake.
Emil graduated from Edwardsville High School in
1935 and from Elmhurst College in 1939. He went to
Northwestern University to study social work but was
drafted into the U.S. Army before he could complete
his degree. He served in the military for four years
and became a captain in the medical administration
corps in North Africa and Italy. Following his
military service, he completed his master’s degree
with an emphasis in the new field of hospital
administration.
He served as a medical administrator at Hines
Veterans Hospital in Maywood and as an assistant
administrator in Mount Sinai Hospital. In 1950 he
opened a new hospital in Maquoketa, Iowa, and served
as the first administrator at that hospital.
In 1953, he was recruited by the Deaconess
Hospital board in Lincoln to oversee the building of
the new Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital and merge
it with the old Deaconess Hospital. During the 30
years that he was CEO, he oversaw many changes in
health care, including the advent of personal health
insurance and of Medicare and Medicaid.
He was considered ahead of his time when he
encouraged doctors who had been practicing
independently in the area to come together and have
a joint practice (a precursor to the Family Medical
Group) at ALMH. This allowed Lincoln to recruit new
doctors and made it possible for specialists from
larger hospitals to come to Lincoln weekly to see
their patients.
He also started the 24-hour emergency room, the
hospital-based ambulance and paramedic system in
Lincoln, the hospice program, the Logan County
Mental Health Clinic and the Logan County Health
Department. |
From 1967 to 1983 he wrote a weekly health care
information column for the Lincoln Courier.
He was on the board of trustees of the Illinois
Hospital Association for several years, the
executive committee of the Central Illinois Health
Planning Council and the licensing board of the
Illinois Department of Public Health. He was a
Fellow in the American College of Hospital
Administrators.
He was a Lincoln Courier Man of the Month in
1957.
He was a member of the Lincoln Rotary Club, where
he was a past president and for many years in charge
of the citrus sale. He was also a member of the
Lincoln Toastmasters Club, Logan County Association
for Mental Health, United Fund of Lincoln, Lincoln
Area Chamber of Commerce and the Lincoln Area Music
Society. He was an active member of St. John United
Church of Christ, where he sang in the choir.
He and his wife became foster parents in 1971.
For more than 23 years they served as foster parents
to over 200 children. They also served as Master
Foster Parents for many years and taught foster
parenting classes at Lincoln Land Community College.
After his retirement, he enjoyed traveling
through Europe, Russia, Africa and China. He was an
avid jogger and competed in many races, including
the St. Louis Marathon twice. He ran on the Great
Wall of China and through Red Square in Moscow.
In 1997 he was selected for the Illinois Senior
Citizen Hall of Fame, recognizing his lifetime
achievements.
Throughout his life he inspired young and old
with his spunk, humor, friendliness and sincerity.
He had a very active life and made many important
contributions to the city of Lincoln.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to ALMH
Building Fund, 315 Eighth St., Lincoln, IL 62656.
Click here to send a note of condolence to the
Stahlhut family. |
