Joseph E. "Joe" Stanley

Joseph E. "Joe" Stanley October 7, 1919 - April 7, 2015 Joseph E. Stanley, age 95, of St. Augustine, FL, passed away on April 7, 2015 at Samantha Wilson Care Center at Bayview. Joe was born on October 7, 1919 in Webster, MA, son of Lois and Julia Bednarz Stanley. He had two sisters, Winifred and Alice. Joe attended Bartlett High School and graduated from St. Mary's of Southbridge, MA. Joseph graduated from the Naval Training Center in Norman, Oklahoma. He served in the U.S. Navy after the end of W.W. II at Ellison Field in Penscola, FL. and was later honorable discharged from his service at his last duty station in Boston, Mass. He returned to Southbridge, and began his technical career at Simons Engineering and then accepted a position with the experimental department at United Technologies as a Master Mechanic in Hartford, CT. His was involved in work developing the early fuel cell for space exploration and the RL-10 rocket booster. Upon completion of the contract with government, he was assigned to Middletown, CT as a foreman in the Master Mechanics department. After retiring from United Technologies in 1981, he and his wife Evelyn moved to St. Augustine, FL and became involved in many volunteer activities including: the Government House and Flagler Hospital. He also belonged to the Knights of Columbus where he organized several charity golf tournaments. Joe and his wife Evelyn traveled to Tampa, FL for a Flagler Hospital convention and helped establish the Tree of Life program at the Hospital. He was a communicant at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine and was a member of the St. John's Art Society. He was preceded in death by his sisters, Winifred and Alice, and his loving wife of 64 years, Evelyn Glory Stanley. He is survived by daughters, Martha Rauza and her husband of Robert of St. Augustine, Deborah Pfeifer and her husband Gary, of Vernon, CT; a son, Mark Stanley and his wife Anne of Ithaca, New York; 8 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren. Graveside services with military honors will be held at 12:30 pm on Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at Jacksonville National Cemetery. A visitation preceding the service will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. on Tuesday at St. Johns Family Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, donations in Joe's memory can be made to: BayView Healthcare, 161 Marine Street, St. Augustine, FL. 32084, or to the Catherdral Basilica of St. Augustine. St. Johns Family Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.