John Edward Stinsmen January 6, 1940 - May 26, 2025

John Edward Stinsmen, 85, of Allentown, passed away Monday, May 26, 2025 in his home surrounded by his loving family. He was the husband of Jane (Leiby) Stinsmen. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last December. John was born in Philadelphia, a son of the late Edward J. and Ruby Lee (Austin) Stinsmen. He joined the National ski patrol when he was only 15 years old and remained a member for over 64 years before retiring in 2020.  John was a graduate of Kutztown State Teachers College Class of 1961, completed his master’s degree in fine arts at Temple University and became a teacher in the Lehighton School District. He moved on to the Whitehall School District where he taught art for 34 years at all levels from kindergarten through high school. John always had a gift for doing things with his hands from artwork with paintings and sculpture and he also had a gift for mechanical work. He was a prolific painter and continued painting after retirement. John worked at the Kutztown Folk Festival for many years where he founded the square dance competition and other programs featuring PA Dutch culture. John and Jane were members of the Town and Country Sports Car Club. This is where he developed his passion for building and racing cars. His cars not only ran well but were also beautiful, very fast and winners of the class. In 1974 he began making specialized racing bikes for the track and road. He built a total of 238 specialized bikes. He named the bikes he built and designed “Veloce”. One of his proudest accomplishments was his son Jason. Jason became a professional inline skater and currently coaches his own skiing and skating team with his wife Tessa. John has become an extensive collector of Aston Martin cars, race cars and books. He was an avid reader and enjoyed many trips to art museums, art galleries and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Traveling was always a big part of his life with many trips to Europe and many river cruises with Viking River cruise lines.  John was truly a creative genius. He worked equally hard on the diverse and different aspects of his life. He always had a can-do attitude and created opportunities for his students and his friends who in turn created and enriched his own life.

Survivors: Wife; son, Jason and his wife Tessa from Park City, Utah. He was pre-deceased by his sister Susan Goldman.

Services: A celebration of John’s life will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Saturday, May 31st in the Stephens Funeral Home, Inc. 274 North Krocks Road, Allentown. Friends and family may call from 9:30 – 10:30 A.M. Saturday in the funeral home. www.stephensfuneral.com.

Contributions: Charity of one’s choice.