Obituary
Dr. Karl Francis Stockhausen
Age 28, recently of Brooklyn, NY, formerly of Northville, Michigan, after bravely and courageously fighting melanoma cancer for two years, died September 13, 2009.
He was born on April 8, 1981 in Livonia to William Francis and Carole Jean (Walker) Stockhausen.
In 1999 he graduated from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School, in 2002 he graduated with honors from Clemson University with a BS in Biochemistry, and in 2008 he received his Doctorate of Medicine from the American University of the Caribbean (AUC) School of Medicine. He was to start a prestigious Emergency Medicine residency at Einstein/Jacobi Medical Hospital in the Bronx.
He loved photography, rock climbing, and had a passion for analytical games like chess and poker. He was an Eagle Scout. He rode round-trip coast to coast on a motorcycle, and traveled across Mexico, Cuba, Europe and India.
As a humanitarian, twice he was part of a surgical medical team in Honduras and also worked for three months in La Parroqia, Guatemala assisting in free health care clinics for the indigenous community. At AUC he was president of the American Medical Student Association, and with other students started a diabetes screening clinic on the island of St. Maarten. He was on a Student Judiciary Committee, was an Anatomy Teacher’s Assistant and an Orientation Advisor. He was a member of the Alpha Omega Phi Honor Society.
He did a clinical rotation in infectious diseases in Mumbai, India, a surgical and Ob/Gyn rotation and a rotation in an HIV Outpatient Health Clinic in London, England, and several rotations in New York City. He thrived on learning about international health systems, and more than anything he was committed to revolutionizing global health care. He was a man of his word, made no excuses for the way he lived life, and inspired others to do the same.
He wanted to spend his life in the service of healing others. It was his desire that his corneas be donated to The Midwest Eye Bank, which will give sight to two people. His body was donated to the Anatomy Department at the University of Michigan Medical School.
In addition to his parents, he is survived by his fiancée Rhea from Brooklyn, NY; his sisters, Juliet (Todd) Culp and Clara of Northville, MI, Rachel of New Britain, CT, his brother Luke “Stocky” of Seattle, WA; his niece Violet Culp and countless friends.
A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, September 19, at Our Lady Of Victory Catholic Church (133 Orchard Dr., Northville) with visitation at 11 am, memorial Mass and funeral service at 12:30 pm and luncheon following.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests a contribution to the Dr. Karl Stockhausen Fund c/o William Stockhausen, 218 W. Dunlap St, Northville, MI 48167.
Northville Record Article
Reprinted with permission from the Northville Record.
September 24, 2009
Dr. Karl Stockhausen of Northville,
who died on Sept. 13 at age 28, with
his fiancee, Rhea.
Community Mourns Young Doctor’s Death
More than 800 attend funeral
By Pam Fleming
STAFF WRITER
The Northville community is still reeling from the death of Dr. Karl Francis Stockhausen, who died Sept. 13 at the age of 28 from melanoma.
He was born on April 8, 1981.
His father, Bill, a retired Ford Motor Company engineer who now runs a hydroelectric plant, said more than 800 people attended the funeral at Our Lady of Victory Church in Northville last Saturday.
“It was standing room only,” Stockhausen said on Monday.
William Demray, DDS, generously provided his home on Griswold for a luncheon following services.
The family has a memorial Web site in his memory, DrKarlStockhausen.com.
Stockhausen was an avid climber. In fact, he met his fiancee, Rhea, at the Climbing Gym in Pontiac. She and some friends marked a route on the side of a cliff in his memory this week at the Red River Gorge in Kentucky.
“His main goal in life was to help people,” said his sister, Juliet Culp, of Northville. “Primarily, he was doing that through medicine, but he was very interested in politics, and he did a lot of his clinical rotations in other countries.”
Culp said her brother loved to travel and wanted to learn about how other countries’ governments and health systems worked.
“He wanted to get ideas on how our health care system could be reformed in the U.S.,” she said. “He wanted to take the good aspects of each country’s health care system and create something better than what we have.”
“He had a number of clinical rotations in England where they have a national health care program,” Bill Stockhausen said.
“He was so well-rounded, so well-adjusted, so well-liked and so highly thought of,” said his father. “But, I think he will be remembered most for being a guy who was glad to be on board, and he was a man with a mission.”
THE WHITE COAT SPEECH
His father said one of the most memorable events in his son’s life was when he was asked two years ago at age 26 to deliver what is referred to as “the White Coat Speech” at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in St. Maarten. This is a short presentation delivered by a senior medical student to first-year students.
“The whole point of the speech is to motivate them and get them excited about accomplishing lofty objectives and goals,” Bill Stockhausen said.
In the talk, he encouraged students to remember three words – contribute, discipline and humanize.
Stockhausen was supposed to start his residency at Einstein/Jacobi Medical Hospital in the Bronx, N.Y., July 1.
“His cancer was in remission for four-six months, but it came back around last Christmas,” his father said.
Stockhausen’s mother, Carol Jean Stockhausen, said, “As a child, it seemed that Karl was always moving so fast, or climbing on everything that he was constantly getting hurt. Due to the cuts, abrasions, stitches, etc., he was given the nickname of Mr. Bump at an early age. Consequently, we spent a lot of time in the ER with him. One cannot help but wonder if those many trips to the ER were embedded on his little brain, and he never forgot it, and that is how his desire to be an ER doctor originated.”
His fiancee, Rhea, said, “Karl embodied the most remarkable balance of confidence and humility….He was even apprehensive when he was called Dr. Stockhausen since he hadn’t started his residency yet.”
“He was always trying to reach the next out-of-reach hand or foothold, to go ever higher, to drive and persist to achieve his altruistic goals – but always with a quiet humility that spoke even louder,” said his father during his eulogy.
pfleming@gannett.com
(248) 349-1700, ext 260
Bill and Carole Jean’s Email
We are very sad to report that after a heroic struggle Karl’s cancer advanced suddenly in the last week and that he went on to eternity Sunday evening. He held on just long enough for a couple members of the family to fly in and for everyone to be around him to say goodbye – until we see him again. We have included his obituary below.
We have learned that cancer is insidious and we believe that the time will come when the Karl’s of this world will find a cure in the fight against this beast. There should be a law that no child can go before a parent because that isn’t the natural order of things.
We want to thank everyone for their steadfast prayers, many good thoughts, and constant well wishes. We still don’t understand it, but we do believe that God has a plan and one day we will know the reason for all of this. We also know that Karl was a positive influence and left this world a better place than what he found. He was a giver, not a taker. We are grateful for 28 years with our son and consider him a true blessing. The cancer took his life, but it did not, and could not, take his indomitable spirit.
May God bless and keep everyone,
Bill and Carole Jean Stockhausen
Memorial Celebration
The Memorial celebration of Karl’s life was held on Saturday, September 19, 2009 at:
Our Lady Of Victory Catholic Church
133 Orchard Dr., Northville, MI, 48167
With the visitation at 11 am, the memorial Mass and funeral service at 12:30 pm and luncheon following.