Antanas "Tony" Stapulionis
September 11th, 1931 - July 28th, 2025
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Antanas "Tony"'s Obituary
Antanas (Tony) Remvidas Stapulionis passed away on Monday, July 28, 2025. He was born to Ursula and Antanas Stapulionis on September 11,1931 in Plunge, Lithuania. He fled his home in 1941 at the age of 10 along with his parents, brother, and sister in an effort to escape the war being fought between Russia and Germany for control of Lithuania. They spent the war in a worker camp in Germany. When the war ended, Venezuela accepted his family as refugees and in 1947 they immigrated to Caracas. Tony earned an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Caracas in 1958, then came to the United States in 1959 to receive a Master’s Degree from Carnegie Mellon. He became a US citizen in 1976.
Tony worked for many years at the Voice of Music Corporation (VM) in Benton Harbor engineering record players and obtained 2 patents for the company. It was there that he met a beautiful accounting clerk with a southern drawl, Sandra, who ended up becoming his life partner for 61 years. When VM closed, Tony took a job at Whirlpool Corporation where he worked until his retirement in 1997. Post retirement, Tony worked on his Master Gardner certification, cooked and served at the Soup Kitchen, and traveled with his adventurous wife. Tony spent many hours perfecting his lawn and flower beds and cursing the bunnies and deer who thought it was a buffet.
Tony is survived by his wife, Sandra, and his sister, Angela Stapulionis de Martinez, as well as many beloved nieces and nephews in Venezuela. Tony & Sandra have four children: L. Maria (Peter) Ruffner, Sean (Heidi) Stapulionis, Laura (Jim) Richards, and Tanya (Gerry) Fenrich. Their 14 grandchildren include Bethany, Tate, Nate, Ben, Maddie, Stephen, Jordan, Alyssa, Alexander, Crow, Joel, Abigail, Murran, and John. They also have six great grandchildren: Antanas, Josefina, Sophia, Luke, Juliette, and Jayden. Tony was preceded in death by his father, Antanas, his mother, Ursula, and his brother, Bronius.
Visitation with Tony’s family will take place on Saturday, August 2, 2025, at the Starks and Menchinger Chapel, 2650 Niles Rd. Saint Joseph, Michigan 49085, from 2:00 – 4:00 pm. A celebration of life service will take place on Sunday, August 3, 2025, at 12:00 pm at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations in Tony’s name can be made out to Corewell Health Hospice and Palliative Care. Feel free to share a memory with the family on their online guestbook at www.starks-menchinger.com.
Tony worked for many years at the Voice of Music Corporation (VM) in Benton Harbor engineering record players and obtained 2 patents for the company. It was there that he met a beautiful accounting clerk with a southern drawl, Sandra, who ended up becoming his life partner for 61 years. When VM closed, Tony took a job at Whirlpool Corporation where he worked until his retirement in 1997. Post retirement, Tony worked on his Master Gardner certification, cooked and served at the Soup Kitchen, and traveled with his adventurous wife. Tony spent many hours perfecting his lawn and flower beds and cursing the bunnies and deer who thought it was a buffet.
Tony is survived by his wife, Sandra, and his sister, Angela Stapulionis de Martinez, as well as many beloved nieces and nephews in Venezuela. Tony & Sandra have four children: L. Maria (Peter) Ruffner, Sean (Heidi) Stapulionis, Laura (Jim) Richards, and Tanya (Gerry) Fenrich. Their 14 grandchildren include Bethany, Tate, Nate, Ben, Maddie, Stephen, Jordan, Alyssa, Alexander, Crow, Joel, Abigail, Murran, and John. They also have six great grandchildren: Antanas, Josefina, Sophia, Luke, Juliette, and Jayden. Tony was preceded in death by his father, Antanas, his mother, Ursula, and his brother, Bronius.
Visitation with Tony’s family will take place on Saturday, August 2, 2025, at the Starks and Menchinger Chapel, 2650 Niles Rd. Saint Joseph, Michigan 49085, from 2:00 – 4:00 pm. A celebration of life service will take place on Sunday, August 3, 2025, at 12:00 pm at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations in Tony’s name can be made out to Corewell Health Hospice and Palliative Care. Feel free to share a memory with the family on their online guestbook at www.starks-menchinger.com.
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