Anita Kaye Stalter

Goshen- Anita K. Stalter, 77, died Tuesday, Dec. 10, at Goshen Hospital.

Anita was born near Flanagan, Ill., in 1947, to Rev. Edwin "Jack" Stalter and Marcella (Rocke) Stalter. A pastor's daughter, she grew up in Waldo Mennonite Church and attended Flanagan schools where she made lifelong friends. The family grew to include three more children – Deanna, Philip, and Timothy – and Anita was the consummate older sister and peacekeeper. She was also a top student and champion hula-hooper, and played clarinet in school marching bands.

The Stalters moved to Sterling, Ill., for a Science Ridge Mennonite Church pastorate when Anita was 16. After graduating from Sterling High School, Anita attended Sauk Valley Community College and Goshen College.

Anita and Jerold "Jerry" Lapp married in 1967 in Sterling, Ill., and lived in Goshen before moving to East Lansing, MIch. Anita worked at Michigan State University while Jerry completed dual degrees. They served as directors for Menno Haven Camp & Retreat Center (Tiskilwa, Ill.) for several summers, notably surviving and keeping children safe during a tornado.

In January 1974, they welcomed a daughter, Rachel; Anita lovingly supported many behind-the-couch puppet shows and every developmental stage to come. The family moved to Grand Rapids, MI, for a year, then settled in Harrisonburg, VA.

Upon finishing her bachelor's degree in early childhood education at Eastern Mennonite University, where Jerry taught in the school's art department, Anita opened a developmental preschool. In April 1979, a son, Jay, was born; mischief and music followed. Anita supported her children in every way, and oh did they make her laugh.

Anita taught first grade in public schools and advocated for students of families facing economic hardship and learning English as a new language. She worked full-time while  earning a master’s degree in education at James Madison University in Harrisonburg. Close relationships with neighbors created a community that remains in touch. The family attended Park View Mennonite Church; there, Anita and a colleague developed and later published international peacemaking curricula for children.

Anita joined the Goshen College faculty in1987. She first taught half-time in the college's Education Department and started a school at the new Oaklawn Psychiatric Center for young in-patients. She became a full-time professor two years later and supervised hundreds of future teachers who shared many stories about her impact in their lives and, subsequently, the lives of their students. She simultaneously pursued and earned a doctoral degree in curriculum, teaching and educational policy from Michigan State University.

After years of chairing the Education Department, Anita accepted an interim post as dean of students and then, in 2001, became the first woman to serve as Goshen College’s academic dean. A determined advocate for faculty, Anita was involved in far-reaching college decisions.

In her time as dean, Anita was a key leader in the launch, development, and oversight of the Center for Intercultural Teaching and Learning (renamed the Center for Intercultural and International Education), developed with a $12 million Lilly grant. She also provided oversight for the Plowshares Peace and Justice Collaborative.

She shepherded the campus in the complex undertaking of successful national accreditation processes, and supported faculty grants. Anita helped launch graduate programs – nursing, environmental education and business administration – and expanded opportunities for Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center. She traveled to make connections for the college’s international education programs in Guatemala, Cuba, Morocco, Mexico and Egypt.

Alongside her work as an administrator and educator, Anita was a published academic author who gave presentations at national conferences on teaching in modern and diverse settings. In 2006, Anita and her daughter, Rachel, researched and wrote the mass-publication book “More than Petticoats: Remarkable Indiana Women,” which follows the lives of 12 historical Indiana women. The two gave presentations around the state about equalizing and elevating representation of women.

One of the longest-serving deans in Goshen College history, Anita held the post for 14 years until her retirement in 2015 when then-President James Brenneman declared an “Anita Stalter Day.”

After retiring from Goshen College, Anita volunteered with the Court Appointed Special Advocate program of CAPS of Elkhart County and joined the Hesston (Kan.) College Board of Directors, to which she devoted many hours.

Anita was such an avid reader that her bookshelves groaned and the Goshen Public Library reserve system was just as frequent a caller as blood bank donation requests to which she regularly agreed. She kept in touch with friends, family and former students and colleagues around the world. She loved attending live concerts by The Steel Wheels, in which her son, Jay, is a multi-instrumentalist, and traveling to the band's Red Wing Roots summer music festival in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her daughter’s family. Anita enjoyed a trip to Africa with her niece Kristi, fulfilling a longtime wish to go on safari. She had hoped to visit German ancestral communities.

Anita was devoted to her grandchildren, often traveling to Michigan and back to her home area in Illinois to visit and care for them; “Nini” was an expert at joining their imaginative play or board games, and encouraged creativity. She spent months with a grandchild who was receiving critical medical treatment, and cared for all of her grandchildren during intense parental work weeks. Nini always listened, always laughed.

Anita is survived by daughter Rachel Lapp Whitt and son-in-law Thomas Whitt, with grandchild Ramona (Bloomington, Ill.), and son Jay and daughter-in-law Jessica Lapp, with grandchildren Nola and Milo Lapp (Ann Arbor, Mich.) Her siblings and their spouses also survive: sister Deanna Moshier and husband Loren Moshier (Normal, Ill.); brother Phillip Stalter and wife Sharon Weaver (Secor, Ill.); and brother Timothy Stalter and wife Kristine Stalter (Iowa City, Iowa). Surviving nieces and nephews are Jason (Laura) Moshier, Brian Moshier, Karla Kossler (Mark), Alissa Vander Naalt (Steve), Kristi Stalter (Joe Thompson), Seth (Kathryn) Stalter, Elspeth Stalter (Zachary Clouse) and Elliot Stalter.

A memorial service will be held in the Goshen area in early 2025; more details will be shared in the coming weeks. Memorial gifts in Anita’s name can be made in lieu of flowers to Lurie Children’s Hospital, Goshen College’s Connected Cause or Red Wing Academy Scholarship Fund.