Mayor 'embodied Trenton,' mourners say at Stack's funeral

Sarah Rahal
The Detroit News

Trenton — City officials and family members mourned Thursday as Kyle Stack, mayor of Trenton, was laid to rest.

Kyle Stack

The Rev. Stephen Rooney presided over Stack’s funeral services at St. Joseph Catholic Church, down the street from City Hall. 

Her cherry-wood brown casket was carried into the chapel on Third Street by city police and fire officials who saluted the public servant. 

The private funeral service was filled with song and scripture among family, coworkers and friends.

Trenton Mayor Kyle Stack’s casket is carried out of St. Joseph Catholic Church on Thursday by the city’s emergency responders. The church's altar servers, in white, are in the foreground as the procession moves outside.

Stack died around 11 p.m. Friday, Trenton police said, after suffering a heart attack. She had just been reelected in November to her third four-year term. She was 62.

Rooney shared personal moments saying Stack was one of the first to welcome him as pastor when he began more than a year ago and she was very active in the parish community. 

“She was a woman who wore her faith very lightly ... but her faith was profoundly deep,” he said. “Just before her re-election, she sat here with Bill and I said to her, ‘Why are you running for reelection. Being mayor is crazy’ and she said, ‘I know, but I love it.’

“To be a servant was in her DNA. She constantly wore the apron and as long as there is a church here, her memory will be celebrated.”

Stack was first elected mayor of Trenton in 2011 and won reelection in 2015, according to the city's website.

Prior to becoming the city's mayor, Stack served as Trenton's city clerk for 26 years and formerly in the city's parks and recreation office, making her first bid for mayor after retiring.

The Henry Ford Community College graduate had been a member of the Trenton Rotary Club and was its first woman president.

33rd District Judge Michael McNally grew up with Stack and played tennis with her during their teen years. 

“Kyle was just a genuine person who put her community first and foremost,” he said following the service. “She embodied Trenton even before she was mayor especially during her time as city clerk and her work with our parks. She is sorely missed.”

Trenton Mayor Pro Tem Steven Rzeppa told The News on Saturday he had known Stack for about 20 years and she "cared so deeply about our community."

"To say it's shocking is a bit of an understatement," said Rzeppa, 27, who first met Stack as a child while his mother worked alongside her in the clerk's office.

Rzeppa, who will now step in as interim mayor, reflected Saturday on the contributions she made in the city of about 18,000 residents. 

Under her tenure, he noted, the city made strides in developing its downtown corridor and ensuring tear down and environmental remediation work at the former McLouth Steel site on Jefferson. 

“Death is so immensely personal, it can be shared with no one,” Rooney said to family members on Thursday. “... But what is the hallmark of our Christian faith is that this is not the end.”

srahal@detroitnews.com