Everett F. Staffeldt

Everett Staffeldt was born January 10, 1932. Raised in Naperville, he spent many hours on the DuPage River where he learned to appreciate the outdoors and its wildlife, documenting his observations through notes and drawings.

At 24, Everett married Arlene Turner, née Staffeldt. He adopted Arlene's four children from her first marriage, and the couple had two children of their own.

Everett earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biology at North Central College in Naperville, IL and later attended Northern Illinois University. He worked at Argonne National Laboratory in radiation biology, aging experiments and cancer research for nearly 30 years. His work also included supervising and educating teachers and college students who desired to pursue other medical fields. Additionally, Everett performed some of the necropsies on animals from the Brookfield Zoo.

During his lifetime, Everett had many interests, including reading, performing in men’s chorus and barbershop chorus, playing the saxophone for the Naperville Municipal Band, hunting, fishing, taxidermy, painting, carving birds, as well as making rocking horses and other toys for his grandchildren. He was a self-taught artist and has taught many people how to carve and how to do taxidermy. Seminary students from Naperville and some of his wife’s high school students were among his pupils. Thursday night was taxidermy session at the Staffeldt’s kitchen table! In 1978, his skills were honored by being selected to paint the Illinois Migratory Waterfowl stamp.

Retiring in 1988, Everett and Arlene moved to a 185-acre property near Farmington, IL to reclaim the land from coal mining by planting tens of thousands of trees, reestablishing original Illinois prairie plants and creating habitat for wildlife. In 2012, the two were awarded Wildlife Landowner of the Year, Region 1 from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, in recognition of outstanding achievements in the development and promotion of wildlife habitat.

Everett passed away on June 24, 2022, at the age of 90 years. His cremains will be placed in a dapple grey rocking horse of his own creation. He is survived by his wife, Arlene and their six children, Georgene (William) Hawkins, Renee Staffeldt, William (Darlene) Staffeldt, Kristine (Bruce) Ogonowski, Brandt Staffeldt and Michael Staffeldt, along with seven grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.

To leave an online condolence you may go to www.sedgwickfuneralhomes.com