Timothy Stoll

Timothy Roger Stoll died suddenly of galloping pneumonia on Feb. 12, 2016. He was  77.

Dr. Stoll, an icon of the Tahoe area, practiced dentistry for more than 50 years in South Lake Tahoe and Minden.

He was born June 16, 1938. While a young boy vacationing with his family in Zephyr Cove in the 1940s and ’50s, he vowed he would make Lake Tahoe his home. Upon graduation from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in San Francisco in 1965, Dr. Stoll came to Tahoe and met with the oldest dentist practicing in the community, Dr. Knudsen. He had limited funds to start a dental practice, so he asked how to start. Dr. Knudsen advised him to “just open your doors and buy your equipment as patients pay their bills.”

Fifty years later, Dr. Stoll was respected among his colleagues and admired with a large following of devoted patients. He put his heart and soul into his dental practice and his level of dentistry was praised by dentists from around the world. He was proficient in all aspects of dentistry, periodontics and cosmetic reconstruction. When his grandson, Talon, asked his grandfather what he liked best about his job, he responded, “I like helping people.”

A perpetual storyteller, he had a large repertoire of jokes ready for anyone who would listen. His capacity for laughter and fun knew no bounds. In addition to making people laugh, he was always ready to lend a helping hand to his family, friends, members of the community, and even the wildlife surrounding his home.

Dr. Stoll’s passion for wildlife and the wilderness led him to a life as an avid sportsman. He loved horsemanship, fly fishing, camping, scuba diving, deep sea fishing, skiing, boating, snowmobiling and shooting, and spent much of his free time in Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming, Alaska and the Caribbean. He obtained his instrument rated pilot’s license, which allowed him greater access to the places he loved to go.

No matter how successful Dr. Stoll was in his professional life he was the humblest of men. His golden rule was to always treat everyone fairly and with respect.

Dr. Stoll loved to rise before the sun, feed his horses, stoke a fire, and quietly immerse himself in a wonderful book. He loved the sweet silence of the morning and was the epitome of the saying, “still waters run deep.”

Dr. Stoll is survived by his wife of 45 years, Phil; children Paul Stoll, Heidi Stoll, Ellery Stoll, Kari Testa, and Marina Ellery; nine grandchildren; and sister Susan Barnes.

A memorial Services will be on Feb. 27 at 11am at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to Calvary Chapel, P.O. Box 17671, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96151.