Aaron S. Stoltzfus, Jr., 85, formerly of Mount Joy, passed away peacefully on Friday, October 22, 2021, at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver, PA. Born in Intercourse, he was the son of the late Aaron and Minnie (Stutzman) Stoltzfus.
Though he never finished high school, Aaron was a mechanical genius and a budding artist. He began his career at John Lapp's carriage shop in Intercourse where he would occasionally watch an older gentleman pin stripe antique carriages and sleighs. One day he observed the man struggling to finish his work, so Aaron offered to help and assured him that he could do it. He was handed the brush and proceeded to amaze him so much so that he gave Aaron his paints and brushes and promptly retired.
In 1954 he married Mary Virginia Kling and they had four children, Jeff (husband of Suriya Chaisayan), Lisa (wife of Joseph Fisher), Patti (wife of Kevin McCarty), and Mark. When he and Mary bought a house in Paradise, he opened an auto body shop. He was a hard worker, always up before dawn and often working late into the night. He also enjoyed riding motorcycles and hunting with Jeff. During this time Aaron was introduced to player pianos, and thus began a lifelong hobby of building custom nickelodeons.
After their divorce he married Roxanne Jones and they had a son, Bret. He continued to build nickelodeons as well as restore and stripe all types of new and antique transportation vehicles, and his reputation grew. For a time, his daughter Lisa worked beside him and painted scenes on several carriages. He was soon doing work for the Smithsonian and other museums, and was even called upon to restore John Lennon's Rolls Royce after it was involved in an accident away from the museum where it was being stored.
Aaron spent the majority of his golden years with Brenda Greiner. He continued making nickelodeons and they did some traveling, with a couple of trips to Arizona. They enjoyed watching movies (he was especially fond of westerns) and playing Scrabble, and he could often be found tinkering in the garage.
Aaron will be remembered for his quick wit, corny jokes, sweet tooth, and love of laughter. He is survived by his older brother, Ron (of Bedford, PA), his five children, seven grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, 88 nickelodeons, thousands of artistic flourishes and untold miles of pin striping in public and private collections across the nation. He was preceded in death by his grandson Brandon Fisher (of New Holland), brother Galen (of Paradise) and two half-brothers, Daniel Stoltzfus and Raymond Pringle. We love you, Dad! See you before soon!
A private service will be held on Friday, October 29, and interment will be at the Intercourse United Methodist Church cemetery beside his beloved parents. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Intercourse United Methodist Church.
