Stan Eitzen, 82, passed away July 3,
2017, at Asbury Park in Newton.
Stan was born Aug. 4, 1934, in
Glendale, California, to David D. and Amanda (Heidebrecht) Eitzen. Stan graduated from Bethel College with
a history major. While at Bethel he played football, basketball and
track, held several jobs and was involved in many college
organizations. Throughout his life, Stan was an avid supporter of
Bethel and its culture of caring for the less fortunate and working
for peace. Two days after graduation, he married
Florine (Voran) and together they moved to Topeka and then Galva,
where Stan taught high school and coached football, basketball and
track. He earned an M.S. in Social Science from Emporia State in
1962.
Deciding after all that he was a
scholar, he attended the University of Kansas, earning a second
Master's and Ph.D. in Sociology. After teaching at KU for six years,
he accepted a position at Colorado State University. While he loved
his CSU Rams, he forever remained an enthusiastic fan of KU
basketball. Stan taught at CSU for 21 years. His
research interests were the sociology of sport, political sociology,
family, criminology, social inequality and social problems. He
published numerous articles and textbooks, served as editor of the
Social Science Journal, the journal of the Western Social Science
Association and served as President of the North American Society for
the Sociology of Sport. Stan enjoyed the beautiful scenery of
Colorado where he took up his hobbies of wood carving, painting and
the occasional golf game. In 2005, Stan and Florine returned to their
roots in Newton where they had college friends from Bethel and many
relatives.
Stan is survived by Florine, his wife
of 61 years; his brother, Abe; sons, Keith (Dawn) and Mike (Kris);
daughter, Kelly (Scott); and six grandchildren: Christopher, Nicole,
Jake (Alise), Zach, Cooper and Max.
Memorial service for Stan will be 3:00
p.m. Monday, July 17, 2017, at the Bethel College Mennonite Church in
North Newton. Memorial donations may be given to Mennonite Disaster
Service (583 Airport Road, Lititz, PA 17543) or the Bethel College
Track and Turf Project (Bethel College Development Office, 300 E.
27th St., North Newton, KS 67117).
