Colleen Joanne Stauffer, of Millersville, passed away on March 26, 2025.

Colleen was born to Maynard and Dorothy Small in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She was raised in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, and graduated from New Cumberland High School. Colleen graduated from Shippensburg State College where she met the love of her life, Fred. At Shippensburg she majored in French and English, with a minor in Social Studies. She graduated on a snowy Sunday night in February and began teaching at Corkran Junior High, Glen Burnie the next morning.

Teaching at Corkran Junior High was just the beginning of her long career in education. Colleen also taught at Glen Burnie High School and Severna Park High School, where she retired from the classroom in 1999.

While at Severna Park, she started a program to help struggling athletes at the school to be successful in the classroom. She piloted the Athletic Academic Advisor program for two years and the Board of Education adopted it for all public high schools in the County. The position still exists today and Colleen was still the AAA at Severna Park at the time of her passing.

Colleen was named Anne Arundel County Public Schools Educator of the Month in December 1994. She was inducted into the Severna Park High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011; was given the Anne Arundel County Coaches Association Bob Pascal Award in June 2015, as well as the Maryland's State Athletic Directors Distinguished Service Award in 2017.

She loved teaching and working with kids; watching and playing sports, especially basketball; announcing the basketball games at Severna Park High School and the Capital Gazette All-Star Basketball Game; reading and writing; music; and paper crafting. She was known for making all of her cards, especially her Christmas cards. She and Fred loved to travel and spent every summer travelling. They visited 49 of the 50 states and all of the provinces in Canada. They were huge Orioles fans and had season tickets for many years.

Colleen was preceded in death by her devoted husband of 57 years, Fred; her parents Maynard and Dorothy Small; and her brother, Robert T. Small.

She is survived by her sister-in-law, Janice Small (Robert) of Grantville, PA: her brother, Brian M. Small (Lori) of Camp Hill, PA; her cousin Judi DiNinni (Ronald) of Vero Beach, FL; her nephews: James A. Stauffer (Linda) of Hilton Head, SC; Gerald Stauffer (Karen) of Lakeway, TX; Brent M. Small (Dixie) of Portland, OR; Daniel Small (Terri) of Harrisburg, PA; her nieces: Kristen Cooper of Beaverton, OR; Angela Riordan (Robert) of Glen Ridge, NJ; Pamela Seetoo of Harrisburg, PA; Meghan Small of Mechanicsburg, PA; Jolene Mettle (Bradley) of Palmyra, PA; Beth A. Smith (Glenn) of Medford, NJ; and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews.

A visitation will be held on Monday, April 14, 2025 from 2-4 and 6-8pm at Barranco Severna Park Funeral Home & Cremation Care, P.A. 495 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park, MD 21146. A funeral service will be held at the funeral home on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 at 10am. The burial will follow at Lakemont Memorial Gardens, 900 W Central Ave, Davidsonville, MD 21035.

Memorial contributions may be made in lieu of flowers to Scholarships for Scholars: https://www.scholarshipsforscholars.org/donate/