The Life of Eugene Glenn Stackhouse
Eugene Glenn Stackhouse
A Man for All Seasons
July 12, 1939 - December 12, 2020
Eugene Glenn Stackhouse, a man for all seasons, was surrounded by loved ones as he peacefully passed away in his Germantown home at age 81 on December 12, 2020, after 50 years of marriage to Dianne Tzouras. Although he struggled with progressive metabolic encephalopathy for several years, he maintained a zest for life, a remarkable disposition and a unique sense of humor that brought joy and laughter to all. Whatever he did, he did with quiet greatness, enthusiasm, and excellence.
Born to Eugene Stackhouse and Martha Janette Simonson Stackhouse on July 12, 1939 at St. Mary’s Hospital, he was baptized at Cumberland Street Methodist Church on October 15, 1939 and attended St. Philip's M.E. Church. Known as Glenn by family and as Professor by his corner gang in Kensington, he read at his mother’s knee and developed a lifelong love of learning. He received his early education at Sheridan Elementary School (6th grade valedictorian), Stetson Junior High (where he “learned how to fight”), Central High School (’53-’55) and Frankford High School (’55-57).
Known as Eugene in the U.S Army (’58-’61), he guarded the free world during the Cold War in Wildflecken, West Germany, where he lunched with Elvis Presley and enjoyed leave throughout Germany, France, Italy and Spain. When offered a military promotion to serve in Vietnam (“too hot”) he chose an honorable discharge and returned to study Biology at Temple University (B.A., ’65) and briefly at Ohio State University. Employed in Philadelphia in virology research at the Wistar Institute and later (’69-’02) as an editor of Biological Abstracts, Biosis, where he met Dianne, he lived and breathed biology. In his basement lab as a teen, he raised live animals. For a while he was a midwife to pregnant sows. He cared for up to 17 fish tanks at once, trading fish at Martin’s Aquarium. His constant companion wherever he lived was his favorite animal, the domestic cat. Gene used ladybugs, preying mantises and tadpoles in an organic garden to control pests, and he replaced barren grass with vegetable and herb beds, bushes and trees. Recognized by the National Wildlife Federation, his yard allows birds to feed and breed and was commended for its botanical diversity by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. His respect for nature extended to game hunting for food, not trophies.
Gene was a gentleman of amazing ability. A superb chef, he grilled Groben’s fish, spit roasted a whole lamb at a neighbor’s wedding, celebrated multi-course Ben Franklin Birthday Dinners, and made Greek-style shrimp on TV-12. He taught himself to ride at 32 and biked over 100,000 miles to work for the next thirty years. He and Dianne hiked through the Wissahickon on day trips, spotting deer and other fauna. He developed beautiful photos in a closet darkroom and later on a printer. On his own time after work, he became an artisan cabinetmaker, using fine joinery and 13 coats of varnish to create furniture for home and for sale.
Eugene collected and read hundreds of books, new and antique. When his grandmother Elizabeth died, he, only 16, zealously preserved his late grandfather Frank’s book collection of 19th century classics, encyclopedias and bibles. Intrigued by how the surname was spelled “Stackhous” in a bible, his research eventually led him to the discovery that his family had emigrated from Giggleswick, Yorkshire, England to Bucks County, PA in 1683. This set him on course to become a pre-computer era professional genealogist. Besides writing numerous treatises on Simonson, his mother’s side, he penned two books on his father’s side:
1. Stackhouse, The Pedigree of the Grandchildren of Frank Lovett Stackhouse and Elizabeth Lentz Stackhouse of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1983
2. Stackhouse, An Original Pennsylvania Family, 1988, Gateway Press.
His interest in genealogy led him to do worldwide consulting and to volunteer in the archives and on the boards of the Frankford G.A.R. Civil War Museum and Library, the Laurel Hill Cemetery, the Hood Cemetery, and the Germantown Historical Society. In 2007, as president of the Society, he became an honoree of the GHS Hall of Fame.
As a patriot, Gene loved Philadelphia history. Stirred by the Civil War Monument at Germantown Market Square, he undertook the gargantuan task of researching stories of local Civil War soldiers and civilians. He authored Germantown in the Civil War, 2010, History Press, and donated voluminous related materials to the Society and to the G.A.R. Moreover, he spent many Saturdays as a tour guide at the Hood Cemetery in Germantown. In his last decades, he was deep into writing a book on Germantown Cemeteries and those resting there.
Besides being a scholar, Gene impacted innumerable lives as a community leader, mentor, and parent of the heart. Gene became an honorary Puerto Rican when Dianne taught in the Spring Garden Area. Seeing his big fuzzy grey beard, a child once called him Santa, to which Gene replied, “Didn't you know that Santa summers in Germantown?”. When he defended himself against a holdup man in his front yard, his neighbors gave him a Sheriff's badge. After attending a Police Athletic League banquet with his tenant’s son, Gene sponsored him for football and then faithfully served the Mt. Airy Bantams as team parent, assistant athletic director, and board member for over eight years. This activity introduced Dianne and Gene to the Mills children, whom they helped to raise alongside their Grandmother Rose and Aunt Regina. Realizing the importance of a good education, they sent two Mills brothers to The Church Farm School in Exton and one brother to New Freedom Theatre. Three men entered college and two went on to Graduate studies. The daughter of a Mills brother will earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Dianne believes that their marriage was founded on love, patience, and faith in God. When they met, Gene advised “Let not the sun go down on your anger” (Ephesians 4:26), and they both lived by these words. Their arguments ended in laughter, with a sense that their love was greater than the nonsense of proving a point. Gene and Dianne were married twice: civilly on December 10, 1970 by the justice of the peace in Upper Darby, PA and sacramentally on April 27, 1991 by two priests at Dianne’s childhood parish, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, in Detroit, MI.
Eugene was predeceased by his brother Warren Geoffrey Stackhouse, nephew Luke Andrew Burgess, brother-in-law Thomas Burgess, and son of the heart Kevin Mills. He is survived by his wife Dianne, sister Alice Janette Stackhouse Burgess, niece Erica Lynn (David) Lozano, great niece Gabriela Lozano, sister-in-law Angel Athena Tzouras (Scott) Linzell, children of the heart Jamar Rahiem Mills, Bryant Mills, Daryl Mills, Franky Mills and Nydja Johnson, and granddaughter of the heart Ajanae Mills. He is also survived by many cousins and friends. Burial took place on December 16, 2020 in the Green Section of West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, PA.
Eugene Glenn Stackhouse, humanitarian, historian, husband, and friend, will be missed but not forgotten. A man for all seasons, his spirit lives on in the minds and hearts of those he touched through his words and actions. A celebration of Eugene’s life is planned for the spring of 2021.