Richard John Stashevsky, DD, LLD

Dr. Richard J. Stashevsky, 86, of Noblesville, finished his race and met his Savior Jesus Christ in heaven on December 21, 2022, while surrounded by members of his family.

Richard was born Ryszard Janusz Staszewski on January 10, 1936, in Warsaw, Poland to Janusz Staszewski and Lidia Szawielko.

Richard was 3 years old and living in Warsaw when Germany invaded Poland in 1939. He was wounded during the bombing, losing most of the sight in his left eye. Richard and his mother were separated from his father during the Nazi occupation. After the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, tens of thousands of Polish citizens were sent to Nazi concentration camps or to forced labor camps. Richard and his mother were among those and arrived at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in October, 1944 and were later transferred to a satellite camp for forced labor. In April, 1945, the British army liberated the camps. Between the end of WWII and 1949, Richard and his mother lived as refugees in Displaced Persons camps in Gottingen, Wattenstadt, and Braunschweig, Germany.

In 1949, Richard and his mother received a sponsorship to emigrate to the United States. They crossed the Atlantic by ship and arrived in Boston aboard the USAT General S. D. Sturgis. From there they traveled to Minnesota to work off the cost of their sponsorship. In 1950, they moved to Albion, Michigan where many other Polish and Russian immigrants had settled. Richard graduated from Albion High School in 1955 and on November 16, 1956, became a United States citizen.

Richard excelled in school and earned his BA and MA from Bob Jones University, his DD from Broadfording Bible Seminary, and an honorary LLD from Trinity College of the Bible. He never stopped learning and his collegiate record contained 262 earned credits from nine different colleges.

Richard married the love of his life, Beatrice Mae Sweet on July 30, 1960. In 1986, Beatrice was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and over the next 35 years, Richard would become her primary caregiver. He was with her as she completed her own journey home on December 16, 2021.

Richard loved young people and spent his vocational life as a teacher, principal, and school administrator. He began his career teaching elementary school for Northview Public Schools in Grand Rapids. After four years in the classroom, he transitioned to administration and served as the principal of East Oakview Elementary for the next seven years. 

In 1972, Richard felt called by God to the ministry of Christian education. Over the next 34 years, Richard would lead Christian schools in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Virginia, Tennessee, Maryland, and Georgia. Students were positively impacted by his kindness, compassion, and unwavering love for Christ.

Richard enjoyed collecting stamps, playing and watching soccer, fishing, board games, playing the mandolin and harmonica, redecorating, and cooking.

He was most recently a member of Castleview Church and Prairie Lakes Health Campus.

Richard Stashevsky is survived by his children, David (Jennifer) Stashevsky, Susan Schulman, Joy (Russ) Wolfe, and MaryAnne (Ryan) Ashley; his sister, Nikki Slagle; 11 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Beatrice Stashevsky.

A celebration of life will be held on Monday, January 2, 2023 at Indiana Funeral Care in Indianapolis. Visitation will be from 11:00 am until the time of the service at 1:00 pm. Burial will be at Oaklawn Memorial Gardens on January 3.