RICHARD J. STOFFELS

Branch of Service: Army

Rank: Private, first class

Honors: Purple Heart

Service years: 1941-1943

Glen Rock: Lived on Cumberland Road, Glen Rock

​

     Richard J. Stoffels was born in 1910 in Wycoff and grew up in Paterson, New Jersey where he attended school. Stoffels trained as an accountant and moved into Cumberland Road in Glen Rock with his older sister, Mrs. Charles F. Nutt. He worked at the Van Vlaanderlen Machine Company and was an active shuffleboard player and bowler in Glen Rock. Richard Stoffels first served in the Armed Services as a Marine in China in the 1920s until he incurred an injury to his shoulder.  He was then called to re-enlist to service through the draft and entered the US Army as a private as part of the Signal Corps. 

     Private Stoffels was involved in a traffic accident in North Africa. He died because of his injuries.  It is believed that he was the first Glen Rock to die in World War II in a war zone and on active duty. His sister became the first Gold Star house in Glen Rock. 

​

Born: 1910 Wycoff, New Jersey

Died: 1943 North Africa