Kent B. Stoffel (Alpha Eta Chapter–Westminster ’42) passed away in 2022, at the age of 99. Recently, the Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation received an estate gift from him totaling more than $500,000. His gift will provide meaningful scholarships to members of the Alpha Eta chapter. Kappa Alpha Order and the KAOEF appreciate his generosity and lasting legacy.
Kent was born in 1923, in St Louis, Missouri. He first attended Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, where he was initiated in 1942 by the Alpha Eta Chapter. He then transferred and graduated from Washington University in St. Louis where he affiliated with the Beta Theta Chapter. He graduated with a B.S. degree in engineering. His clubs included the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and The Engineers Club of St. Louis. During World War II, he served three years as a Navy lieutenant, junior grade, in the Pacific theater. Kent most recently lived in Endwell, New York. He was preceded in death his wife, Ruth Ann, and a nephew, Remy Stoffel of St. Louis.
According to the November 1941 edition of The Kappa Alpha Journal Brother Stoffel was part of the, “most successful rush week in recent years,” at Alpha Eta, totaling 22 new members. He quickly became involved and played on the chapter’s softball team.
Following the United States’ entry into World War Two, Brother Stoffel joined the U.S. Navy. In his junior year, 1944, he left college to attend the U.S. Navy’s Training School for Midshipmen at Camp Macdonough in Plattsburg, New York, at Lake Champlain. He was one of nearly two dozen KAs at the school. He shortly thereafter received his commission as an Ensign. He was assigned to a ship that was commissioned in Portland, Oregon, and sailed to the Pacific Theater in 1945. His role then was Assistant Navigator and Communications Officer.
In the March 1946 Journal Brother Stoffel was reported as, “promoted to Lieutenant (jg) upon arriving at San Diego, California, on January 27, 1946. While aboard the LCS (L) 38, in the Pacific for the past 14 months, he participated in the battle of Okinawa, and later destroyed mines off the coast of Japan and in the China sea. The ship has returned to the States to be decommissioned.”
If you are interested in leaving a legacy to the Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation by making a planned gift through your estate. There are a variety of planned giving options available and we will be happy to work with you in selecting the option that has the most benefit to you and your family. The 1865 Trust recognizes those who have made provisions for a planned gift of $10,000 or more to the KAOEF.
