Thomas Edward "Ed" Stokel, Sr., 93, of Leonardtown, MD, passed away on Sunday, May 20, 2018 at Hospice House of St. Mary's in Callaway, MD. He was born March 20, 1925 to the late Edward John Stokel and Eloise Maria Abell Stokel. Ed graduated from Margaret Brent High School in 1942. In 1943 he joined the United States Navy during World War II and proudly served his country as an aviation radioman and combat air crewman, surviving three plane crashes, and received an honorable discharge.

On September 29, 1944 he married his beloved wife, Agatha Teresa Stokel in Hutchinson, KS. Together they celebrated over 66 wonderful years of marriage until her passing in November 2010. In 1946 he joined the Naval Air Station Fire Department as a firefighter and was later promoted to Engineer and then Safety Officer. He later taught Supervisory Management Training at the Naval Air Test Center. He retired with a total of 43 years of government service.

His hobbies included art, county history, and archeology. He was a charter member of St. Mary's County Historical Society and the Maryland Archeological Society. He designed and drew the official County seals for St. Mary's, Calvert, Prince George's, and Queen Anne's Counties. He also spent many hours volunteering within the community, as a first aid instructor, a lecturer, and a lay teacher in a confraternity of Christian Doctrine. He received a Letter of Commendation from the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. for 70 years of dedicated service to St. Aloysius Catholic Church.

Ed is survived by his children: Thomas Stokel, Jr., Jeanne Marsh (George), Joyce Stokel, Laura Ferris (Tom), Monica Clements (Bill), Marian Stokel Rita Humphrey (Jay), Mary Underwood (Warren), Clara Spalding, and Mark Stokel (Tracy); 14 grandchildren; many great and great-great grandchildren; and many extended family and friends. In addition to his parents and wife, he is also preceded in death by his sister, Katherine Stokel.

Family will receive friends on Friday, May 25, 2018 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., with a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated by Reverend David Beaubien at 11:00 a.m. at St. Aloysius Catholic Church, 22800 Washington Street, Leonardtown, MD 20650. Interment will follow at St. Aloysius Cemetery in Leonardtown, MD. Serving as pallbearers will be Bill Clements, Alec Clarke, Dan Farr, Freddie Burris, and Ernest Bell, III. Kennedy Abell will serve as an honorary pallbearer. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of St. Mary's, P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, MD 20650. Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown, MD.