Charles Frederick Stamm

Charles Frederick Stamm, M.D., 94, died peacefully on Sunday, September 24, 2023, at his home in Schenectady, New York, following a period of declining health. Family and caregivers were present. Dr. Stamm was a radiologist at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, New York.

Dr. Stamm was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on January 9, 1929, the son of the late Charles Levi Stamm and Carrie Margaret (Shilling) Stamm; soon after, the family moved back to Shillington, Pennsylvania, which was founded by Dr. Stamm's great-grandfather, Samuel Shilling. Early in life Dr. Stamm played the bass violin in bands and orchestras in southeastern Pennsylvania while studying under Wes Fisher (Mohnton, Pennsylvania) and then Warren Benfield of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He was graduated from Shillington High School in 1946. During these early years, he worked at a variety of jobs, including as an assistant to a veterinarian; as a wrangler who groomed, fed, watered, and gave children rides on "Cisco Kid" Ponies; and, one summer, as the operator of an ice cream truck for Pensupreme. He and his family were neighbors and close acquaintances of the young writer John Updike and his family.

Dr. Stamm was graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1950 and then went on to Temple University School of Medicine to earn his medical degree. While at Franklin and Marshall he met, at a dance, his future wife, Ann McCord Benchoff, from Woodstock, Virginia, who was attending Hood College in nearby Maryland; they were paired by design and chance, arranged by height, as was a common practice at socials of that era; they married in 1955. He enlisted in the Medical Corps of the United States Air Force and was assigned to Elmendorf AFB in Alaska where he and Ann spent the next two years. His medical residency was at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor before establishing a permanent residence in Schenectady as a radiologist at Ellis Hospital. Dr. Stamm became the Chief of Radiology for a period of time marked by a great expansion of the Radiology Department and the implementation of vastly more powerful equipment and techniques in radiology, including the first CT scans for medical diagnostics. Dr. Stamm continued playing the bass violin during a decades-long tenure at the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra, for which he served as President of the Board, and the Burnt Hills Oratorio Society. Dr. Stamm served a term as President of the Schenectady County Medical Society and was actively involved with the Union College Academy for Lifelong Learning (UCALL) serving as Chairman of the Steering Committee. Dr. Stamm and his family attended Friedens United Church of Christ, Union Presbyterian Church, and First United Methodist Church in earlier years; more recently, he and Ann were active members of Schenectady’s St. George's Episcopal Church.

Dr. Stamm was preceded in death by his wife, Ann Benchoff Stamm; his sisters, Margaret "Miggs" Stamm Coleman and Elizabeth "Betts" Stamm Wagner; and his son-in-law, William Robert Nave, Jr.

Surviving are his four children: Katharine (m. Stephen) Schindler of Reston, Virginia; Martha Stamm Weiskotten of Schenectady, New York; Charles (m. Christina Tse) Stamm of Brooklyn, New York; and Jared Stamm of West Hebron, New York. Also, his five grandchildren: Laura (m. Dylan Simms) Addams Weiskotten, Ann Compton Schindler, Katharine Gates Weiskotten, Charles Tse Stamm, and Caroline Quinn Stamm; and a great-granddaughter: Dahlia Nicole Simms.

The family is greatly appreciative of the care given to Dr. Stamm in his last years by the caregivers at Home Instead, Inc.: Stacey, Deb, Shirley, Tracy, Dorette, Olga, Nevid, Radha, Lakeya, Tweir, Vanessa, Onika, Sonia, and Sol; along with April, Sarah, Radha, Kim, and Angellina. Dr. Stamm's life continued in health through the care given by Dr. Chan, Dr. Pezzulo, Dr. Dibble, and Dr. Campo.

A burial service will be held for Dr. Stamm at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 21, 2023, at Massanutten Cemetery, Woodstock, Virginia. Pastor Steven D. Wood will officiate.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra, 432 State Street, Schenectady, NY 12305 or to St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, 235 South Main Street, Woodstock, VA 22664.

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