Obituary: Joseph T. Stanley, 97, of Quacker Hill

WATERFORD, CT - (From Byles Memorial Home) With great sadness, we share news of the passing of our patriarch, Joseph Taylor Stanley of Quaker Hill. He was born April 27, 1923 in Barre, VT to Joseph and Jessie Taylor Stanley. He lived in Norwich and New London and moved to Waterford as a young teen.

He graduated from Chapman Tech in the Class of 1941 and attended his class reunions. He worked at General Dynamics a short time before he volunteered to join the Navy during WWII in May 1943. He served as a Machinist Mate 2nd Class on the USS Wadleigh (DD689), a destroyer stationed in the Pacific until July 1946. He is a USS Wadleigh Plank Owner. The USS Wadleigh has annual reunions held all over the country and he attended many.

Upon his return home from the war, a young woman, Louise Ruth Baker, had moved into his neighborhood on Miner Avenue in Waterford. The courtship began and they married on June 24, 1950. The first two daughters were born and Joe and Louise realized they wanted a house, so they started building in Quaker Hill with help from his father and other craftsmen in the area. Two years later in 1956 they moved into their home and never left.

A son and another daughter were born and the family was complete. He loved to go out in his small boat with his kids to go fishing and crabbing. He was a sheet metal worker and worked at Crown and H. R. Hillery Sheet Metal and later at General Dynamics. He liked to tell the story that he did sheet metal work on the mini golf course at Ocean Beach in the early 1950s.

His wife, Louise, the love of his life, predeceased him in 2007 after 57 years of marriage. Joe remained very active, visiting friends and enjoying all the family gatherings. Baseball was a favorite topic of conversation as he was a life-long Boston Red Sox fan, but watched any game that was on. He was so happy when they won the World Series – FOUR TIMES!

He attended many of the grand and great grandkids’ sporting and school events. As a skilled craftsman, he was the go-to guy for fixing anything around his house and everyone else's. In his later years, he enjoyed supervising work being done. He mowed his lawn until age 96. This spring he repaired and replaced the top railing on his deck. He recently celebrated his 97 birthday with a social distance gathering and a drive by from the local fire department.

He is survived by his 4 children, Joan Stanley (Ben Pipech) of Waterford, Nancy Scrivano (Mike Scrivano) of South Carolina, Joseph Stanley (Susan Selvidio-Stanley) of Norwich and Florida and Constance Stanley (BJ Adamowicz) of Quaker Hill.

His grandchildren, Joshua Murch (Amy Hathaway) of Waterford, Laura Stanley of Florida and Justin Stanley (Katherine Rygielski) of Uncasville and his great-grandchildren Cameron and Colton Murch. He is also survived by his nephew, James Hall of New London and niece, Linda Hall-Matlock of Idaho.

He was a loving husband, father, uncle, grandfather, and great grandfather. We believe the secret to his longevity was his social nature and Friday’s sardine lunches. He remained sharp as a tack all the way to the end. He was one of the nicest men you could ever have met.

America has lost another from the Greatest Generation and we will miss him terribly. There are no calling hours and burial will be private because of the public health situation. A celebration of his life will be held at a later date.

Special thanks to Hartford Healthcare Hospice and Independence at Home employees and the Veterans Administration for their support. If you would like to contribute to a charity in his honor please consider Homes For Our Troops - Building Homes, Rebuilding Lives!, a program for disabled veterans who are built homes to meet their disability needs.

But time marches on, we all wear out. Every day is a blessing – enjoy it, enjoy the people around you.