- Date Of Birth: July 31, 1915
- Date Of Death: January 12, 2016
- State: California
Wilbur Kenneth Standley – best known as Will or Wilb or Daddy by family and friends.
On July 30th 1915, Will was born in Stockport, Iowa, a small farming town in the southeast sector of Iowa. It was a beautiful day with a temp. of about 82 degrees, Stockport had only about three hundred people and a one-room school house serving all grades at that time. Will graduated high school in 1933. The family lived on the farm until his father died in 1923. His Mother (Mabel), moved the family including his brothers (Harold, Lloyd, George, and Les) and sister (Mary) to town. All of his siblings preceded him in death. It was interesting to hear some of the old stories he would tell about his childhood and he had perfect recollection right up until the end. Yes – he was quite the story teller and people could sit or stand for hours to listen to him go on and on about a story he would tell about the ‘good ol’ days. People have said “you should sit down with him with a tape recorder or video and just let him talk and the stories could be soooo fascinating”. Those are all good thoughts and recommendations but did we do it –NO. It’s sad as he was full of so many wonderful stories.
Will has had a wonderful life looking back on it all. His childhood was simple. Hard at times but good. He came to California to stay in 1939 and settled in Pasadena with his brother Les. That’s where he soon met his wife to be, Fern. They married in May of 1941 and in February of 1942 Beverly was born. They continued to live in Pasadena until Oct. of 1950 when the three of them moved to Azusa, CA. In 1959 along came Bev’s Sister Lori. Yes she was an oooops but welcomed just the same. During all that time Will worked various jobs but mostly keeping within the auto parts industry. He ended up buying his own business in 1965 calling it “Will’s Auto Parts” and it remained that way until he sold the business.
After a couple of years at that job he was asked if he would like to go to the Fair’s R.V. Park and work there. Of course Will was up to the challenge once again. He worked at their R.V. Park’s small store where he took on double-duty. He help run the store and also worked as an attendant to the RV Park itself, registering people who came into the park and assigning spaces plus running around in their golf cart making sure everything was running smoothly at the park. At the age of 87 he finally RETIRED for good. Fern had passed away in January 2001. Not long after, he joined forces with his dear next-door neighbor, Chita, who had been their friend and neighbor for almost 50 years and was widowed herself. Due to loneliness and companionship they took up housekeeping and were really close until her death in 2009. He had sold his house to Aaron and his mother Yolanda who became very good friends. In November of that year Will, at the age of 94 and with no prodding, sold his car and moved into a very nice place called Aegis Assisted Living Center (now called Oakmont Assisted Living Center) in Chino Hills. While there Will met Rosemary McMillin and it was “love at first sight” for both. They co-habitated until they were married in January of 2015. They shared many moments of love and happiness until his death on January 12, 2016.
