Rich Stokes, the beloved Fairfield Little League coach whose dedication to youth baseball spanned more than 50 years, passed away peacefully on September 8th, 2026 at the age of 81 following complications related to Parkinson’s Disease. A celebration of life is planned for Thursday, September 24th at 10:30 a.m. at the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center.
The celebration, themed “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” invites attendees to dress in their favorite game day attire — jeans, jerseys, sports t-shirts, or whatever they would wear to the ballpark. The service will be officiated by Pastor Craig Brown and will feature live music, stories, and special guest appearances by many of the important people in Rich’s life. Hot dogs and brats from Char Steakhouse will follow the service.
Born on August 24th, 1945 in East Brunswick, New Jersey, Stokes graduated from East Brunswick High School in 1963 and from Parsons College in Fairfield in 1970. He then went to work for Falco, where he remained for precisely 44 years, 7 months, and 20 days — a figure he could recall with ease, as those close to Rich knew he had a photographic memory for numbers and statistics, particularly when it came to baseball.
Rich began coaching Little League baseball in Fairfield in 1975 and never stopped, mentoring hundreds of children over more than five decades on the diamond. He won more than 300 games during his coaching career and proudly displayed trophies, medals, and a wall of more than a hundred photographs from his years of coaching on the walls of his basement. Year after year, Rich returned to the field, teaching not just baseball fundamentals but life lessons about discipline, teamwork, humility, and heart. Most of the children he coached had no idea the man guiding them would ultimately become a lifelong friend. In 2024, the baseball fields on Glasgow Road were renamed the Rich Stokes Little League Complex in his honor, recognizing his lifelong commitment to the Fairfield community.
Over his lifetime, Rich received many honors, including the Fairfield Citizen of the Year Award in 2002 and the Maharishi Award for Information and Inspiration in 2009. Over the last year of his life, Rich was cared for by Dr. Richard Curtis, Addington Place of Fairfield, Compassus Hospice, The Summit of Coralville, Prestige of Fairfield, and his daughter Laurie, who made the decision in 2025 to stop working in order to become his full-time advocate and caregiver.
Those who knew Rich remembered him as someone who never had a negative word to say about anyone. “Rich Stokes, you were a shining light to so many of us throughout the years,” Cameron Cooksey wrote in a tribute. “You always made me feel like I was part of your team. You never had a negative word to say about anyone, and your kindness left a lasting impression on everyone who knew you.”
Rich is survived by his daughter Laurie Stokes-Woods and her husband Adam, sisters Pamela and Deborah, seven grandchildren — Luke, Cora, Owen, Erin, Taylor, Elijah, and Mackenzie — daughter-in-law Jill Johnson, son-in-law Tom Carey, and special friend Ann Shipman. He was preceded in death by his parents Paul and Helen, mother-in-law Beulah Lauderman, and his wife Shirley, whom he married on November 14th, 1981 and remained with until her death in 2005.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Fairfield Little League, The Lord’s Cupboard, Little Superheroes, The African Violet Foundation, or Compassus Hospice, and may be mailed to Cranston Family Funeral Home, P.O. Box 189, Fairfield, IA 52556. Online condolences may be left at cranstonfamilyfuneralhome.com.
