Cindy Stell, Retired Chicago Ridge Dist. 127.5 Teacher, Dies At 72

OAK LAWN, IL — Cynthia “Cindy” Stell (Pfeiffer), a beloved teacher at Chicago Ridge School District 127.5, died July 22 of a heart attack. She was 72.

A longtime resident of Oak Lawn, she was living in Wood Dale at the time of death. Cindy was born on March 2, 1951 in the Chicago area to John and Patricia Pfeiffer (DiCola).

Cindy earned a bachelors of science degree from Western Illinois University. She was a favorite speech and language therapist for 38 years at Ridge Central Elementary School and Finley Junior High School until her retirement in 2011. Cindy was a proud member of the teachers union.

She fell in love with the Beatles during their U.S. debut on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 and remained a loyal fan for the rest of her life. She loved animals, especially her cat, Abbey. Cindy wrote poetry and enjoyed reading, sewing and embroidery.

“Cindy’s creativity permeated her home and her heart,” said her children’s childhood friend Sarah Grana. “Her home was our place to be creative and safe. Cindy’s home was a place where music was always playing and books were everywhere. Magic was important to her. My heart breaks for Roger and Pattie. Cindy raised two remarkable, loving, creative and beautiful people. She loved them so much. She will be missed.”

During the 1990s, Cindy earned battle pay as a den mother for her son’s Cub Scout troop at Sward Elementary School. She also taught Sunday school at First United Methodist Church of Oak Lawn.

“My mother was very creative,” Cindy’s daughter, Pattie Stell, told Patch. “She was thoughtful, generous, and approachable, with a funny, goofy sense of humor.”

Cindy was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Jack Pfeiffer. She leaves her son and daughter, Roger and Pattie, and her former husband Robert.

Friends and family will gather for a visitation at 4 p.m. Saturday, July 29, immediately followed by a memorial service at 4:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, Central Avenue and 100th Street, in Oak Lawn. Her children have set up a GoFundMe to help with funeral costs and other expenses.

Cindy Stell with her children, Roger and Pattie, circa 1980s.