Stanley Taylor

Our loving husband and father, Stanley Taylor, passed away peacefully with his family surrounding him, at the age of 98, on November 1, 2016, in Orem, Utah.  He was born May 22, 1918, in Loa, Utah, as one of fourteen children to the family of Allen and Lula May Taylor. He and his brothers and sisters were raised on a farm where they learned responsibility and hard work at a very young age. Stan and his brothers, with their father, herded sheep on Parker Mountain in Wayne County. Their early life was not much different than the pioneer heritage they came from.

Stan graduated from Wayne High School in Bicknell, Utah. He enjoyed playing basketball, acting in drama productions and attending dances. It was during high school where he met and dated his sweetheart, Sarah Durfey. They were married June 27, 1938, in the Salt Lake Temple. Stan and Sarah eventually became the parents of five boys, Ronnie Stanley, Robert Allen, Joseph Cassell, Gary LaMar and David Arvel.

Stan’s early work history involved building infrastructure in the Provo area and helping to erect the Deer Creek dam. Later when World War II broke out, he built munitions at the Remington Arms plant in Salt Lake City. It wasn’t long after that he received his draft notice and had to leave Sarah and his first two sons to spend time in the Navy on the USS Bataan as a navigator. Upon returning from the war, he entered what is now Utah Valley University and received a degree in business management. Stan then began what became his main career at the Geneva Steel plant from which he retired after many years. Long time Utah County residents may recall Stan’s Drive-in in Provo that Stan owned and operated with his family for twenty three years. Their onion rings and fry sauce were legendary.

Stan and Sarah with their boys enjoyed many activities. A tradition was the annual deer hunt with extended family and friends on Parker Mountain. They made many trips to Wayne County exploring the red rock country where Stan and Sarah grew up. Stan and Sarah always encouraged their boys to work hard and to become educated so that they could have promising futures.

Stan was active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints his entire life and held many callings. He and Sarah enjoyed serving in the Illinois, Nauvoo Mission and working in the Provo Temple. After nearly 50 years together, Sarah sadly became ill and passed away in 1987. Stan had lovingly cared for her and was extremely heartbroken from his loss.

After a time, Stan married Thelma Thorup Schauerhamer whom he had previously known from his work in the temple. Stan enjoyed his time with Thelma during their fourteen years of marriage and became close to her large family. Thelma became ill and passed away in November 2002.

Stan had decided that he would be alone the rest of his life but as fate would have it, he met Charlotte Wilde while attending dances at the Orem Senior Friendship Center. Stan and Charlotte began a treasured companionship and married in January 2006. During their ten years together, Charlotte gave Stan a fresh look on life. They led a surprisingly active lifestyle with ballroom dancing and traveling to many places, a favorite being their trips to Alaska. When Stan started feeling the effects of age, Charlotte tenderly took care of him.

Stan is survived by his wife, Charlotte, his sister, Winona Peterson, his sons, Ron (Suzanne), JC (Jill) and David (Lisa) daughter in laws Kris (Gary) and Pamela (Robert) and two “adopted” sons, Richard Armstrong and Sam Aguirre. He has left a legacy of 30 grandchildren, 91 great grandchildren and four great great grandchildren. Stan was preceded in death by his parents, his wives, Sarah and Thelma, his sons, Gary and Robert and grandchildren, Kelly, Kimberly and Jason and 12 brothers and sisters. The family would like to express appreciation to Kim Wilde (Charlotte’s daughter), Betsy and Adrian from Intermountain Homecare and Hospice and other medical professionals who have cared for him during his illness.

Viewings will be held Friday, November 4, 2016, from 6:00-8:00 pm at the LDS chapel located at 1500 North 1100 West in Orem and on Saturday, November 5, 2016, at the same chapel beginning at 9:30 am with funeral services following at 11:00 am. Interment will be at the East Lawn Memorial Hills cemetery. Please extend your condolences to the family here on his page.