Stanley Calvin "Stan" McDonald

McDonald, Stanley Calvin "Stan"
89, of Newport, Oregon, died Sept. 10, 2012. He was born on December 31, 1922, in Shawnee, Oklahoma, to Elmer McDonald & Gladys Hanks McDonald. The family moved to a farm near Glendale, Arizona, in September 1924. His siblings include Roberta, Lowell, Norma & Carolyn. Stan graduated from Glendale High School in 1940, where he had been a star football player. He received a football scholarship from the University of Arizona. He soon joined the Coast Guard, but was only in for a short time, as the government released him to go back to farming. A short while later, he joined the Army Air Force, where he was a gunner/instructor on B-29 Bombers. Their squadron was half-way to Japan when the pilot announced that the war was over, & that they were going home! They made a u-turn in the middle of the Pacific & headed back to the states! Upon returning home to Glendale, Stan went into the family farming business - McDonald Vegetable Co. In 1950, he married long-time friend Gwen Crouch, whom he had known his entire life. In 1952, they had their first-born Robert Stanley, & in 1954 they had their daughter Janet Elizabeth. While living in the "valley", Stan did farming, & was the owner/operator of the 1st ski shop in AZ. In 1963 the family moved up to the White Mountains, where he did many things - was a pilot, designed a ski run, was a ski instructor, managed a country club, worked at SW Industries, was a general contractor, was the owner/operator of Tal-Wi-Wi Lodge, & owned a ranch. He was always very active, & during his life, he enjoyed skiing, horseback riding, & hunting. Stan was also an avid reader, which in later years, he did many hours/day. In the late 70's, Stan & Gwen moved back down to Phoenix, & Stan went to work for the State of Arizona, & later the City of Phoenix. He started the Mounted Ranger program, where the city park rangers rode horse-back through the desert/mountain parks. Stan retired from the City of Phoenix in the early 90's, & in 1992, Stan & Gwen moved to Newport, Oregon, in order to be near their daughter & grandchildren. Stan just couldn't keep from working, so he got a job at Fred Meyer's, where he worked for several more years, before his final retirement. In 2000, just a few months short of 50 years, Stan's long-time wife Gwen passed away. Stan had been going to exercise class for several years by then, which is where he met Grace Strom, whom he married in 2002. They lived in Depoe Bay until 2008, when they moved into Newport. Since Stan had been on dialysis for several years, he & Gracie played a major role in getting the dialysis clinic built in Newport. They had several wonderful years together. He is survived by his wife Grace Strom; his siblings Roberta Kosier, Lowell (Elberta) McDonald, Norma Davis & Carolyn (Bob) Vossellor; his son Bruce (Mary) Swift, his son Bobby (Ya) McDonald, & daughter Janet (Bob) Scanlon; grandchildren, Marilyn McDonald, Paul McDonald, Jennifer (Kenney) Cave, Katrina (Drew) Marmo, Matt Adams, Carie (Shane) Cyphers, Christie (Troy) Painter & Jason Adams; step-children Nancee (Jim) Bruce, Larry (partner Martha) Strom, Sal (partner Lynn) Strom, & grandchildren Marcus Olmstead, Tessa Zosta, Remington Bruce & Austin Ouderkirk; & many great-grandchildren, nieces & nephews. Services will be held at Atonement Lutheran Church (2315 N Coast Hwy, Newport) at 1:00 p.m. on Sept. 28, 2012, followed by a Celebration of Life at the Yaquina Bay Yacht Club (750 SE Bay Blvd., Newport). Memorial donations may be made to the Stan McDonald Memorial Fund at the Oregon Coast Bank, with proceeds going to both Alzheimer & cancer research.