August marked 20 years since Officer Robert J. Stanze II of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department was killed in the line of duty. On August 8, 2000, Officer Stanze was shot and killed while arresting a suspect in the shooting of another police officer. He served with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for six years. He left behind his wife, Michelle, who was expecting twins, John and Holly, and his 16-month-old son, Wil. We caught up with the Stanze Family this year and got a glimpse of where life has taken them.
Wil, John and Holly are now young adults entering different and exciting ventures. In 2019, Wil graduated from Ranken Technical College, and is currently employed at Aviks Services as a robotics installer. Wil also works in conjunction with Amazon Robotics where he keeps Amazon warehouses across the country in service.
Holly is a freshman at the University of Kentucky studying engineering. She was one of a few freshmen that received an offer for a position in a new Bio Medical Engineering Bachelor’s Program. Previously the program had only been offered as a master’s program. Holly is slated to begin the program in spring of 2021.
John is working on a double major in History and Journalism at Southeast Missouri State University. He is employed at the St. Louis Zoo.
Michelle shared where her life is and how BackStoppers impacted her family, “Because of the help BackStoppers provides, I was able to stay at home with the kids for 12 years. After that I returned to school and became an RN. I am currently working for SSM St. Mary’s as an RN. BackStoppers has continued to provide educational and healthcare assistance for my family.”
We are thankful for Michelle as she is on the front lines of healthcare and appreciate her service. We are thrilled to learn about all the accomplishments and plans for Wil, Holly and John. It is an honor to be a part of their journeys.
We consider our educational assistance to be one of the most important commitments to the families we serve. The BackStoppers Education Fund will ensure that we can meet future educational costs. You can support our Education Fund today by choosing the Education Fund option in the donation envelope enclosed or learn more at BackStoppers.org/Education-Fund.