Our Staff
Staff members of Knollcrest Funeral Home are caring and experienced professionals who understand that each family is unique and has personal requests and traditions. These requests and traditions are of utmost importance to us as funeral directors and office personnel alike.
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Robert Van StaalduinenOwner & Founder
Robert is the owner, founder, and first funeral director of Knollcrest Funeral Home. Bob is a graduate of the Worsham College of Mortuary Science. Bob worked at several area funeral homes before he and his wife Elaine built Knollcrest Funeral Home in 1989. They raised four children in the apartment above the funeral home before moving to a home in Oak Brook to raise their fifth. Their two oldest, Holly and Josh, have chosen to continue their father’s work and are now on staff. Bob and Elaine’s caring hand is seen throughout the facilities and in the approach which they have trained their staff to follow. When they were asked to take over the Villa Park legacy of Steuerle, they knew they would need to spend some time making that their home as well and choose to move to Villa Park in 2022. |
FUNERAL DIRECTORS
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Joshua Van StaalduinenFuneral Director & Director of Technology
Josh’s knowledge of the funeral home and deep concern for grieving families are traits of someone who has spent most of his life at a funeral home. We are blessed to have him carry on Bob’s legacy to the next generation. Joshua graduated from Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights in 2008, where he studied communication arts, film, and media. He graduated from Worsham College of Mortuary Science in 2010. Besides all the responsibilities of a funeral director, Josh supervises all Knollcrest’s media: from making slide shows for visitations and filming funerals for distant relatives, to coordinating our office technology. He lives in downtown Lombard with his wife Martha, their two daughters, Lillian and Hannah, and their goldendoodle Oliver. They attend Parkview Community Church in Glen Ellyn. |
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Andrew T. CunninghamFuneral Director
Andrew Cunningham has been a fixture at Knollcrest since he began working part-time as a Timothy Christian High School student in 2007. After graduating high school, Andrew received his BS in Mortuary Science from Southern Illinois University in 2013. Andrew returned to Knollcrest to train and work as a funeral director. He lives in Lombard with his wife (who happens to be Becky Schrader’s sister!) and their two big fluffy dogs. |
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Eric ShoesmithFuneral Director
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Keith KustraFuneral Director
Keith became a funeral director after deciding he needed a more fulfilling career. Keith apprenticed under Bob, and Knollcrest is so glad to have him back, bringing his quiet calm and detailed focus to the families we serve. Keith is a long-time parishioner at St. Pius X and has served in many roles there. He and his wife Sabrina live in Lombard. |
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Ema TroxtellApprentice Funeral Director
Ema decided to pursue a career as a funeral director after a friend encouraged her to do so while she was still attending Salt Fork High School in Catlin, IL (near Champaign). While attending Worsham College of Mortuary Sciences, Knollcrest Steuerle provided student housing and career training. Her hard work and positive attitude have proved to be an asset to our funeral homes, and we’re glad to help train the future leadership of this field. |
BUSINESS STAFF
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Holly StammisDirector of Marketing and Finances
Holly can barely remember a time in which she did not work in some capacity for Knollcrest. As Bob & Elaine’s oldest child, she has been answering phones, making coffee, and running a vacuum since she was in grade school. Holly graduated from Timothy Christian School in Elmhurst in 1997, and Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI, with a bachelor’s degree in English and Art in 2001. After college, Holly tried on many jobs in many places, including high school teacher, florist, bookkeeper, retail merchandiser, day program coordinator for adult group homes, and church nursery coordinator. In 2006, she came home to Knollcrest, first to manage the office, and as Knollcrest has grown, she has moved into whatever role was most needed. Holly resides in Westchester with her husband Ben and their three daughters. They are active participants in their community and in their church, Christ Church of Oak Brook. |
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Becky SchraderChief of Operations & Knollcrest Chapel Office Manager
Becky joined Knollcrest’s staff as Office Manager in August of 2011. Her smile and friendly voice will likely be the first thing you see and hear when you visit. Becky grew up all over the suburbs of Chicago and graduated from Wheaton Warrenville South High School in 1999. She then spent 6 months teaching young Zulu children in Estcourt, South Africa. She returned to attend Northern Illinois University, where she graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. Over the next few years, Becky held several teaching and office positions, but none seemed to be the right fit. But at Knollcrest, her personality and varied skills suit both Becky and the business perfectly. Becky, her husband Pete, their two children, and friendly dog Annie live in the apartment attached to Knollcrest funeral home, so there is always a live person to answer the door or phone at Knollcrest. They attend Willow Wheaton Church in West Chicago. |
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Paula SextonAdvanced Funeral Planner
Paula came on board in January 2022 to focus on helping families that were looking to plan their final services in advance. She is a graduate of DePaul University and Worsham College of Mortuary Sciences. Paula is a licensed funeral director and has been helping people plan funerals in the Chicagoland area for over 30 years. She has won awards for Family Service Excellence and will go above and beyond to make sure each family is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. Her role at Knollcrest Funeral Homes has been a gift to families that are looking to preplan; and to our other funeral directors, allowing them to focus on families in the midst of grief. Paula is dedicated to helping educate the community about the ever-growing range of options for end-of-life services and hosts many educational seminars |
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Dennis FreeFacilities and Fleet Manager
As Becky’s dad and Andrew’s father-in-law, Dennis has spent a lot of time around Knollcrest and Steuerle. As a contractor, he would often lend a hand fixing something when it was beyond our staff’s skills. In 2022, we made the arrangement formal, and he stepped away from doing contract work to come on staff in a full-time capacity, focusing on maintaining our buildings and vehicles. If the place is looking cared for or extra spiffy, it is most likely due to Dennis’ attention to detail and highly skilled abilities. |
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
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Beth MoscatelloSteuerle Chapel Office Manager & Headstone Consultant
Beth joined the Knollcrest staff in 2018, coming highly recommended by our friends at Trinity Lutheran Church. She was most often the face greeting people at visitations. In 2020, she took on the role of office manager for the newly acquired Steuerle Chapel. Beth is a life-long Villa Parker. She attended Willowbrook High School and Walther Lutheran High School, where she graduated in 2002. Beth has many connections to Villa Park and the Lombard community. She also worked as a classroom aide at many of the Lutheran schools including St. Paul Lutheran, Trinity Lutheran, and St. John Lutheran. She lives with her family in the apartment above Steuerle Chapel. It has always been a value of the Knollcrest Funeral Homes family to have staff on site to personally answer phone calls and drop-ins; and give families the peace of mind that their loved one is truly in our care until we lay them to rest. We are grateful that Beth has allowed us to offer this service in our Villa Park location. |
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Dorothy PostmaSupply Procurer
Dorothy Postma is not only part of the Knollcrest team, but also Robert’s cousin and is endearingly called Auntie Dorothy by those in the Van Staalduinen family. Dorothy comes from a small town in North Carolina, and with that southern hospitality comes her friendly charm. She is a graduate of Calvin College, with a BA in Business and Sociology. After graduating, she moved to the Chicago area and worked in various administrative capacities before switching to full-time care of her 4 sons. She loves to keep active with swimming, church, and family. Dorothy lives locally in the Congress Knolls community with her husband and her boys. She is an active member of Lombard Christian Reformed Church. |
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Barbara WagnerAdministrative Assistant
Originally from Sedro Woolley, Washington, Barbara has lived all over the States, but found a home at Knollcrest when she relocated from Custer, SD to Lombard in 2015. She has 3 children and 3 grandchildren. Her experiences in mothering, moving, and ministry give her a compassionate heart for families in transition, which she graciously offers to the families we serve. |
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Joanne GrittersAdministrative Assistant & Headstone Consultant
Joanne came on board the Knollcrest team in October 2015. Joanne graduated from Timothy Christian School in Elmhurst in 1997, and Trinity Christian College in 2001, with a Bachelor of Communication Arts with a Concentration in Media Relations. Her education and background led her to become an Education and Communication Coordinator for FTD, and then an Event Coordinator for Trinity. Joanne is bright inside and out. Between her background, education, and character, she has become a perfect fit for Knollcrest’s office. Outside of Knollcrest, she is a proud baseball mom of 3 boys. She and her family live in Westchester and attends Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church. |
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Toni WolthusenAdministrative Assistant
Before joining the Knollcrest Family in 2022, Toni taught elementary school (kindergarten and 1st grade) for 16 years. Toni has lived in Lombard her entire life, currently with her husband, Mike, their two sons, 3 small fish and 1 giant "sucker fish" named Tucker. During her years as a teacher at St. John’s Lutheran in Lombard, Toni worked with Beth Moscatello and had Becky’s son as her student, so when they heard Toni was looking for a more flexible position that would allow her more time home with her family, they jumped on the chance to have her join our staff. Toni has a heart to serve and knows how to always be where she is most needed. |
SUPPORT STAFF
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Chuck MoscatelloVisitation Host
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Ron TylerVisitation Host
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Valentin MoscatelloVisitation Host
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Nadine AndersonVisitation Host
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