Thoughts and Memories – My friend Stan

You can find Stan’s obituary here: http://www.korsmofuneralservice.com/fullobit.cfm?ID=1716

You can find my first post about Stan here.

I sent an email out to everyone in Stan’s address book yesterday.  I started getting phone calls and emails this morning from those who knew him.  Here are excerpts of those:

Stan was Stan. He didn’t apologize for who he was or his strong belief in God, a topic that he was more than willing to share with anyone. He had many difficult times in his life in the past few years with the deaths of his mother, father and daughter. But Stan’s faith kept him going. He kept his home in Lisbon even after he moved to teach in the western part of North Dakota. We always knew when he came back to Lisbon – our doorbell would ring and with an unexpected visit was Stan (even on Christmas Eve). We would laugh, cry, hug but the visit always included talking about how great God was, even when Stan was struggling with his life. I will miss those visits.
~KW

Stan and I met as undergrads; he was in many ways a member of our family. We encouraged (he would have said tortured) him to get his master’s degree, and he made sure that I finished my doctorate in Russian History. He will be missed.
~KG

I met Stan when he worked at Ben Franklin in Fargo.
After he moved on to other places, we would get a phone call or more often he would just pull into the driveway for a visit.
I will always remember Stan for the passion he had for the kids and his unwillingness to back down from what he believed in.
He will be missed.
~EP

I am sure Stan appreciated your friendship greatly.   While at Ben, Stan took one student in particular under his wing, because of Stan’s kindness, that young man had a coat, boots and all the gear he needed to survive winter (and 9th Grade)  – I don’t know what happened to that student after he left our district but I am sure he will be forever grateful to Stan.
~LQ

Thank you Carl for sending this out on our listserve – what a shock and heavy heart I have for you and his family.  I knew stan since graduate school and loved his unique perspective on things.  When he worked in Wishek years ago, we had mutiple conversations and his ethics always stood out about administrators to students.  He was a restless soul always looking for the next adventure that he could not find.  I pray and hope he has now found that place.  May he rest in peace.
~CW

One day after school, we were talking about our day and he was sharing his philosophy on a situation.  All of a sudden he jumped up and said, ” Oh, – I gotta go.  I get to the store and buy tomato plants!”  NOT use to seeing him like this, I was concerned that there was more to the story. I stopped over at his house about 1/2 hour later to see if I had upset
him(which he would usually just call me on the carpet!) but he laughed andsaid, “No – just gotta plant tomatoes.”  We talked about gardening…there was always something to talk about with Stan.
~DM

saw him last summer when he stopped by for a visit — always the same Stan — I could tell, from what he said, that he was struggling with his job and still reeling from the loss of his daughter.   Stan didn’t have an easy life, some of that was his own doing and he would be the first to say so,  but he was always striving to make life easier for others and truly cared for all the kids he came in contact with.
~L
He struggled with the loss of his daughter.  I like to think we helped him by welcoming him into our family.  He was a regular for evening meals and just to visit in the evening.  I will miss my friend.

Stan had a strong hold on his ethics, and that caused him problems here in Garrison.  Sadly.  But in the end he was at peace with the end of his time here in Garrison, and looking for a new adventure.  When I last saw him on Thursday he was upbeat and looking forward to a break from work.  He lived for the kids in his school.
~CY

I feel bad that all of this had to happen and that he was all alone.  I cannot even imagine. It is just so tragic. He was so young.  I know that he is happy to be with his Mom and Dad and daughter but I will miss him very much.  I especially know that he is very happy to be with his Lord and Saviour.
~BH

 

I will post more as they come in.  I don’t remember all of the telephone conversations I have had today. I appreciate everyone reaching out to me.  Please don’t hesitate to do so.  You can comment on this page and I will respond.
Carl