Adelaide born Stella met her future husband Christoph Graf Vitzthum von Eckstaedt who was visiting Australia in 1972 and moved to a new life to Germany in 1974 where she spent the rest of her life. Nevertheless she kept close contact and returned home regularly.
In her 70th year Stella and all her siblings strongly supported the work of the Mawson’s Huts Foundation and asked that her friends and family donate toward the conservation of the historic huts in Antarctic built and used by their grandfather in 1912.
She is survived by her husband Christoph, daughter Jessica, son Friedrich and her two grand daughters Josephine and Estelle.