History
Maurice Stubnitz, pictured in the center. Photo courtesy of the Lenawee Historical Society, Inc.
Family
Maurice Stubnitz was born in Kiev, Russia in 1891. He came to the United States with his family while still a baby. The family settled in Baltimore, Maryland. When Maurice was ten years old, his father died, and soon Maurice found himself working days and going to school at night.
Maurice Stubnitz never gained a high school diploma, yet he was admitted to Carnegie Institute of Technology (later Carnegie-Mellon University) after passing tests administered to gauge a student’s potential. While at Carnegie Tech he majored in civil and mechanical engineering, and when he graduated in 1913, he stood third in his class.
Upon graduation, Stubnitz took post graduate courses at Carnegie Tech while working in the area. Eventually he gained employment with a Pittsburgh company (which he would later own) called Fort Pitt Bedding, a manufacturer of mattresses and seat springs.
In the 1920’s Maurice Stubnitz met Dorothy Swartz, whose father worked for a railroad. Dorothy was 17 years younger than Maurice, but he was a solid young man with a promising future. He was fun to be with and good at selling, whether it was seat springs or himself, and Dorothy and Maurice dated.
Dorothy graduated from high school in 1926. She and Maurice were married that same year. Their only child, Jean, was born in 1928. Maurice continued as an engineer at Fort Pitt Bedding and Dorothy was a homemaker. She liked art and studied painting at Carnegie Tech during the early years of their marriage while they lived in Pittsburgh.
When the family first came to Adrian, they rented an Italianate house of the 1870 era on State Street, but they had plans – at least Dorothy had plans. She envisioned a house made of compressed or rammed earth on the order of designs by Frank Lloyd Wright. She selected a site northwest of Adrian overlooking Wolf Creek. However, the builder, Ernie Scheuerman, could not provide a cost estimate for this innovative design, which made Maurice nervous and uncooperative. Also, friends kept asking “How’s your mud house coming along?” As a result, the family never did build a house in Adrian.
In the 1930’s the Stubnitz family bought a cottage on the south shore of Devils Lake about thirteen miles from Adrian. Initially, they lived there only during the summer months, but soon added on to make it usable for more of the year.
As a little girl I remember how Maurice loved children. How patient and attentive he was to all of us who were frequent guests at their cottage on the lake. While re-doing the upstairs, he built a dormitory type porch which contained a single bed in each corner. This was so his daughter, Jean, could entertain us for sleep-overs.
– Hildreth Spencer
Business
In the mid 1930’s Maurice designed and patented steel spring cushions for use the automobile industry. The former Adrian Fence factory on Logan Street in Adrian was purchased and in 1935 the Stubnitz-Greene Spring Company began production. The company was successful for more than thirty years when it was sold in 1964 to Hoover Ball Bearing Co. of Ann Arbor to be operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary.
Maurice was always very proud of the fact that no matter what profits might be accrued, he never would invest in any stocks or bonds which he deemed inherently injurious to people. Tobacco and alcohol come to mind. He assiduously avoided these things in his portfolio.
– Hildreth Spencer
Community
Immediate postwar years were good for Stubnitz-Greene, and gave Maurice Stubnitz an opportunity to give back to the Adrian community in a new way. In April of 1949 he accepted the position of president of Associated Charities, and continued to serve this charity either as president or as a board member for several years.
At home, the Stubnitzes also found their lives changing in the postwar era. Jean graduated in 1946 from Kingswood, a private suburban Detroit school which was part of the Cranbrook system. She then enrolled at the University of Michigan where she met and later married Max Rosenstein, a young engineering student from Turkey. When Max dropped out of school, they moved to Adrian where Max took a job as a draftsman with H.W. Tuttle Company, and worked at Stubnitz-Green. They purchased a home on the west side of Adrian.
In the early 1950’s Maurice Stubnitz served on several committees of the National Association of Manufacturers, while continuing his charitable work by serving on the Adrian Community Chest campaign. In 1952 the Adrian Chamber of Commerce chose him as Adrian’s outstanding citizen for community service. Two hundred people attended the banquet where he was presented the award by Ed Fisher, local banker and Chamber president. In 1953, he succeeded Ed Fisher as Chamber president.
Maurice was a very serious man, all business in many ways. He evinced little sense of humor in his own persona, yet he enjoyed lively conversation, and especially so when it was sparked with a nimble and lively wit. On these occasions he would enjoy a hearty laugh. For his strictly social side he eschewed businessmen, for he spent so much of his time with these “movers and shakers”. He adored his wife, Dorothy, and his daughter, Jean. He could have been persuaded to give them anything they wanted. However, neither ever asked for anything special.
– Hildreth Spencer
Maurice and Dorothy vacationed in Florida in the early 1950’s but the aspects of segregation so common in Florida at the time, were offensive to Dorothy. They subsequently decided to visit Hawaii. They frequently took a cruise ship, which they found enjoyable, and by 1955 often stayed at the Surfrider Hotel on Waikiki Beach for six or more weeks. Long leisurely winter cruises to the islands soon became the norm.
The Stubnitzes also began spending more of the year at the Devils Lake cottage, and by 1958 had changed their legal residence to the cottage address. In 1957, Jean gave birth to their first grandchild – a baby girl, Madeline who would be followed by four more children: David, Julie, Margaret and Daniel.
In 1960, Dorothy’s interest in art was rekindled by her former high school art teacher and longtime friend, Jean Thorburn. Thorburn suggested that Dorothy take painting classes from an artist named Elliott O’Hara, who it seems was the catalyst. Her interest grew to the point that Dorothy continued to paint, teach, and talk about art, color and design for the rest of her life.
O’Hara believed that there was no reason why one could not and should not finish a painting fairly quickly. This instruction especially captivated Dorothy, as she had been formerly taught that an artist might only produce ten or twelve paintings a year; implying that if a work of art did not lead to considerable pain and trouble, it was probably not much good. That did not sound like much fun, and Dorothy had withdrawn from painting.
The O’Hara philosophy, combined with the training and practice she received in his classes, transformed her whole feeling about art. For the rest of her life, she painted whenever and wherever she could. In her paintings, almost all watercolors, she showed a strong feeling for color, a good sense of design, and an interest in the people and landscapes she was depicting.
By 1962, Dorothy Stubnitz, who was 54 years old at the time, had produced so many watercolors they seemed to cry out for an exhibit. The result was the first of a number of annual exhibitions she would have in the large lobby of the Commercial Savings Bank in downtown Adrian. The first exhibit on April 8, 1962 must have been rather daunting for her, but happily the worrisome aspects were reduced by the presence of good friends. The exhibit was hosted by Russell McAfee and his wife, Virginia. Mr. McAfee was President of Commercial Bank on whose board Maurice Stubnitz was a director. They were assisted by Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Stern, and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Scott.
That first exhibit was composed of some forty watercolors. About 200 people came to the opening reception, and many more would enjoy it in the weeks following. Each year thereafter, there would be an exhibit of Dorothy’s paintings with a different theme. In 1970, the exhibit had an oriental flavor, following a trip the Stubnitzes had taken to the Far East. The last exhibit in 1971 displayed scenes from Greece, India, Nepal and Bali.
Dorothy’s interests in addition to art were cooking and playing the piano. However, mostly she liked to paint, paint, and paint some more.
I really knew Dorothy better than Maurice since he worked so many hours of the day. She was the only one who looked after Jean and her friends. Although she cared little about food herself, often forgetting to eat as she had other interests, she was a gourmet cook. Maurice expected her to be, as he entertained so frequently all these major business people from around the country.
– Hildreth Spencer
In 1964, Maurice entered the field of politics indirectly. He was elected as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in San Francisco. He had always been a party stalwart, but had never become involved to this extend. Apparently the experience at the convention which nominated Barry Goldwater, was enough politics for Maurice for the rest of his life.
Maurice Stubnitz found service on committees to help nonprofit causes engrossing. In the years after 1964, one such cause became quite important to him. This cause was the Adrian YMCA. He had always found the Y a useful organization, with great importance to the community. In the 1940’s he had used its classrooms for training workers at Stubnitz-Greene. By the 1960’s the YMCA was seeking to replace an aging structure by building a new facility on Maumee Street west of downtown. Maurice got involved chairing important committees in the building fund drive. He and Dorothy contributed handsomely to the building and to subsequent endowment funding campaigns. After the new building opened, Maurice put it to good use, swimming laps at the new pool every day for many years.
Philanthropy
Maurice Stubnitz died in 1981, leaving an estate of several million dollars. His will made ample provision for their daughter, Jean, and her children. In addition he made generous bequests to various charitable institutions. The balance of the estate went to Dorothy.
After Maurice died, she never could realize that she was a very wealthy woman. The pleasure that money did bring her was the knowledge that she could use it to do good, kind and productive things with it. That was her greatest joy. That, of course, second only to her love for her art and her painting.
– Hildreth Spencer
Recognizing Maurice’s strong sense of service to the local community, Dorothy honored his memory by establishing the Maurice Stubnitz Humanitarian Award to be given annually to a deserving individual by the Lenawee United Way. She continued to benefit local charities in Lenawee County and special interests of her own.
In 1988, Dorothy made two substantial gifts of her resources. The first was a gift of one million dollars to Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh where Maurice had studied as a young man (Then Carnegie Tech) and where Dorothy had pursued her passion for painting as an adult. Her gift to the University established an endowed chair, the Dorothy L. Stubnitz Professorship of Art. Her second gift, also one million dollars, established an endowed Professorship of Internal Medicine at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
In the ensuing years, her philanthropy culminated in the establishment of the Maurice and Dorothy Stubnitz Foundation for the purpose of “benefiting and promoting education, the arts, environmental and humanitarian causes, conservation and other charitable activities”. The Foundation as a vehicle for giving after her death, was a way to continue the consistent charitable support the Stubnitzes had become known for during their lives.
Dorothy Stubnitz died on June 19, 1990 in Honolulu at the age of 82. When finally settled in 1992, the foundation she established began with initial assets of close to four million dollars.
Both Maurice and Dorothy were generous to a fault, with their time, energy and wealth. If you were fortunate enough to be counted among their friends, it was for life!
– Hildreth Spencer