Maurice Stamps' Obituary
Maurice Stamps, life-long resident of Seymour and a revered figure in the community, died on Thursday, August 22 at 103. To generations of Seymourites, Maurice's place in the community will be forever linked to the Seymour Community High School. From 1947 until 1979, he was a member of the school faculty, first as English teacher and track and football coach, and starting in 1956 as high school principal. After retiring in 1979, Maurice remained active in the community through his participation with local service organizations such as the Lions Club and the American Legion Post. He continued to take an interest in school events. For many years he attended every Alumni Banquet, where it was his honor to announce the names of scholarship recipients. In 2006 Maurice's role in the community became better known to later generations of townspeople--the children, grandchildren, and even a few great grandchildren of his former students. In that year, following the death of Enid, his wife of sixty years, he began to write historic reminiscences and sketches for the Seymour Herald. These essays, which told the story of growing up in Depression Era southern Iowa, were eventually collected into a series of locally popular books called Shoal Creek Legends. As America began to realize that its population of 'greatest generation' World War II veterans was rapidly thinning, Maurice wrote a war memoir called SNAFUs and Love Letters, which drew on the letters sent between him and Enid, his future wife, during the four-year separation imposed by his wartime duty in the South Pacific. Maurice took great pride in his army service. Of his various social and civic duties, that of unofficial chaplain for the American Legion post was in some ways the hardest yet most fulfilling. As one who appreciated a good story, and who liked to keep the old stories alive, he was increasingly called on to share a few words, an anecdote, or a poem he remembered from his teaching days, at the graveside of a fallen post member. For a certain generation of SCHS alums, those who attended school from the late 40s to roughly 1960, Maurice will be remembered foremost as a teacher and coach. Though he always took special pride in his role as an English teacher, his role as a football coach may still linger brightest in a few memories. During the 1950s, the school fielded some of its most successful teams, winning back-to-back Blue Grass Conference championships in the 1953 and 1954 seasons. His 1953 team was one of just twelve undefeated teams in the state. For long-suffering boosters of Seymour football, those were the glory years. Maurice was born on the family farm in 1915, two miles southeast of Seymour, through which ran the Shoal Creek of his book titles. He was old enough to know about, if not remember first-hand, Seymour's original boom era in the early days of the 20th century. Local coal mining operations swelled the town population to 3,000 and the town had two railroad stations. In his Shoal Creek Legend books, he painted pictures of a lively Seymour and some of its colorful characters in those post coal-boom years. Maurice left Seymour in 1935 to attend Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois on a football scholarship. He enlisted in the army in 1942 and by the time he returned to Iowa following the war, the community was already much changed from that which he would later describe in his books. Most of the areas one-room school houses, including the Brush College School that he attended as a child, were closing. Not everyone who had left town during the war years, to fight or to work in defense plants, had returned and Seymour was gradually losing population. Yet, family farms still dotted the landscape, and many of those farms had school-aged children. By the 1960s, the post-war baby boom meant a growing number of students. Following the decision to consolidate the Seymour, Jerome, Promise City and Sewal schools into a single community school, graduating classes approaching sixty were not uncommon. Fifty or more boys routinely vied for spots on the football team; the school's marching band numbered in the eighties. As principal, Maurice presided over this second heyday at the school and Seymour experienced another golden age. Maurice was known for his prodigious memory and was often the go-to town historian. In 2003, when he was honored at the town Old Settlers Celebration, reminiscences not surprisingly turned to his days as a football coach. A few people in the crowd may have been surprised that, at age 88, he could remember not only the final score of a game played 50 years before, but the specific third-and-six off-tackle running play that gained a key first down and turned the tide in a tough-fought contest. In later years, returning SCHS graduates who approached Maurice at an Alumni Banquet or a town event would often preface their introduction with words to the effect of 'Mr. Stamps, you probably don't remember meâ?¦. ' But, in most cases, he did. He very likely remembered not only their names but also the names of their brothers and sisters. And, if she had been a local girl, he probably recalled the maiden name of their mother. With the help and support of his beloved community, Maurice was able to live at his Seymour home until early 2019. His family would like to thank Ralph Alshouse for his many years of devoted friendship and daily visits, and Debbie Wardlow for years of compassionate nursing care. Tom and Sue Remby were always on call for assistance. Enfys McMurry kept Maurice apprised of currents events and he relied on her spirited daily phone calls and frequent visits. When a January fall necessitated a move to Mercy One Long Term care in Centerville, Sherry Doggett watched over Maurice and visits from Seymour friends brightened his days. He passed peacefully in the early morning of Thursday, August 22. Maurice was preceded in death by his wife Enid and his daughter Nancy. He is survived by his son David and partner Linda Hultquist, his son in law Terry Destito, four grandchildren, many great grandchildren and numerous extended family. Funeral service will be 10:30 am, Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at Thomas Funeral Home in Seymour. Interment will follow in Southlawn Cemetery. Visitation will be Tuesday, August 27, 2019 at Thomas Funeral Home in Seymour from 1-7 pm, with the family present from 5-7 pm. Memorials may be given to the Maurice & Enid Stamps Scholarship Fund in care of Seymour Community Club PO Box 4, 52590. Condolences may be shared at www.thomasfh.com or facebook.com/thomasfuneralhome. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Maurice Stamps please visit our Sympathy Store. Cemetery Details Southlawn Cemetery Visitation AUG 27. 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (CDT) Thomas Funeral Homes - Seymour 307 W. Wall StSeymour, IA 52590[emailprotected] Funeral Service AUG 28. 10:30 AM (CDT) Thomas Funeral Homes - Seymour 307 W. Wall StSeymour, IA 52590[emailprotected]
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