Rodham E. Stem of Doylestown, Pa passed away on August 14th, 2024. He was 78 years old, born in Buckingham, PA, the only son of Earl Stem and Ruth Findley Stem.
Rod is survived by his wife Shari Stem who was the love of his life throughout their 53 years of marriage. He is also survived by his only son Jamie Stem, his grandson Jackson Stem, daughter- in-law Courtney Nash, sisters Patti Stem and Karen Walters, sister-in-law Roberta Froehlich, brothers-in-law Daniel Froehlich and Robert Walters, and many other extended family members.
He is also survived by his two adorable Boston Terriers, Zoe and Chloe, who are already missing him dearly.
Rod attended CB West High School in Doylestown PA, was a veteran of the U.S. Army and a life- long auto technician. He grew up in Buckingham and spent his summers living on Bull’s Island on the Delaware River. In his twenties he started his own service station, Stem’s Buckingham Garage,a staple of the community where he worked on cars and served the public for decades. He was beloved locally for his ability to fix cars and for his kindness to strangers.
Rod had many talents and enjoyed all types of activities and hobbies. He was a mechanical genius who could solve any problem in his own way. Obviously he loved cars very much, which led to his nickname, “Hot Rod,” but he also loved sailing and the beach. He would take his catamaran down to the Jersey Shore every summer and his ski poles up to the mountains every winter with Shari and Jamie in tow.
He enjoyed movies about dogs, watching the Phillies and the Eagles, surf fishing for stripers in Cape May with friends and family, cooking and grilling a great meal, working and tending to his vegetable garden, then gathering the harvest, taking the camper down to the beach, spending time with his grandson, Jackson, tinkering on any given project that needed to be done or whatever problem needed fixing. Above all else, he enjoyed spending time with his family and friends.
Rod was extremely proud of his grandson’s many hobbies from fishing to cooking to baseball, his wife Shari’s knitting and her lifelong commitment to teaching through the years, and he was always there to support his son Jamie in all his musical endeavors. Music was a big part of Rod’s life, and some of his proudest moments were his son’s accomplishments as a singer, performer and songwriter.
A celebration of Rod’s life will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, September 21, 2024at Reed and Steinbach Funeral Home 2335 Lower State Road Doylestown. Friends and family may visit from 9:30am until the time of the service (During the celebration, friends and family will have the opportunity to share any memories of Rod in an open forum. In keeping with Rod’s wishes, please dress casual).
Interment will be held privately in Washington Crossing National Cemetery.
Tremendous and heartfelt thanks go to the truly exceptional doctors and nurses at The Cancer Alliance, Penn Medicine, and The Doylestown Hospital, who provided care and comfort throughout Rod’s courageous battle with cancer. Memorial contributions can be made to: The Cancer Institute of Doylestown Hospital, 599West State St. Suite 312, Doylestown, PA 18901