TORRINGTON – Stan was born on July 17, 1930, in Kansas City, Missouri. He was adopted by Ford and Grace Kuns of Lusk. He graduated from Lusk High School in May 1948 and then attended Chadron State for one year. He then moved to Torrington and worked at the Torrington Telegram. He married Maxine James in July 1950. The couple briefly moved to Oakland, California, prior to working for Argo Oil Corp in Lance Creek.
Stan was drafted into the US Marine Corps in February 1952 and sent to San Diego, California. After boot camp, he was assigned to the band, drum and bugle corps, where he was later transferred to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1953. He was discharged from the Marines in February 1954, where they moved back to Lusk. Stan was proud of being a Marine.
While living in San Diego, his daughter, Janet, was born in September 1952. His son, Kevin, was born in March 1955. Tragically, Maxine passed away at this time.
In 1956, he met and married his soul mate, Patricia Vondra, in Lusk, and they lived in Lance Creek, where Stan worked for Ohio Oil Company/Marathon Oil Company as an engineering clerk. The family was transferred to Tripoli, Libya, in February 1960, where he worked in oil field materials and was transferred to engineering department as an admin assistant.
In 1964, Marathon Oil transferred the family to Findlay, Ohio, where he worked in the purchasing department until 1975. During this time, both his kids graduated from Findlay High School. Stan was very involved in golf, tennis and racquetball, playing in many leagues for Marathon Oil. He also became a huge fan of the NFL.
In 1975, Stan and Patricia moved to Houston, Texas, where Stan worked for Mitchell Energy Corp in the purchasing department. He took early retirement in 1986. Not one to stay at home, he worked his dream job at Randall’s Food Market in the Deli from 1988 to 1998 and then worked as an office manager for Hydraulics Tech from 1998 to 2007, when he finally really retired at the age of 77.
While in Houston, he and Pat had season tickets to the “Luv Ya Blue” Houston Oilers. He and Pat were present at the Astrodome when Nolan Ryan threw a no-hitter in 1981. He still has the tickets to that game.
Stan and Pat moved back to Torrington in 2008 to be near family. In 2018, they decided to move to Montrose to be closer to their son, Kevin and his wife Bobbie. Following a brief illness, Stan passed away on Aug. 31 at Valley Manor with his love, Pat, at his side. The family wishes to thank Valley Manor for the profound respect they paid Stan as they transported his body outside. They covered him with the American flag, and the staff and residents lined the halls with respect, and taps played for this fallen Marine.
Stan is survived by his wife of 66 years, his daughter Janet (Mark) of Colorado Springs, son Kevin (Bobbie) of Montrose, two grandchildren, Anne (Terry) and Jacob and numerous great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews and their families. Services will be held in May 2023 at the family gravesite in Jay Em.
