Stanley E. Dunford
January 10, 1957 - February 12, 2012
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Stanley E. Dunford
January 10, 1957 - February 12, 2012
Obituary
Stanley Edsel Dunford
Born in Seattle, Washington on January 10, 1957 to Marlene and Edsel Dunford, Stan died unexpectedly February 12, 2012 in Santa Ana, California at the age of 55.
Stan grew up in Southern California and graduated from South Torrance High School. By his junior year, Stan held football records as a varsity wide receiver and was a star track sprinter. Stan was full of life and had a variety of interests including flying and outdoor activities. A dedicated student, Stan pushed himself to excel at whatever he tried and generally succeeded. Stan graduated from University of California at Irvine with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1980, and a Master’s in Business Administration in 1984. He was guided each day by his Christian faith. During this time, he was blessed with meeting many who have become great lifelong friends.
Stan met Helen (Sidaris) in 1980 and they were married on May 4, 1985 in Rocky Hill, CT. They have two daughters, Alyssa, age 22, and Amy, age 19.
Stan’s professional career began at Fluor in Irvine, California and then continued at Kwikset/Black and Decker. For the last fourteen years, he was Vice President of Operations at Atlas Carpet Mills in Los Angeles. Stan’s career encompassed a wide range of roles including engineering solutions, product design, manufacturing operations, executive management, and many more. While he had very strong technical and management skills, he also was respected for his ability to connect with others. Stan valued the relationships he had with those in his work environment, treating everyone with kindness, fairness, and respect. Many who knew him have said that when speaking with Stan, he made them feel important, special, respected. He was enthusiastic about meeting any challenges that might arise, and took pride in his accomplishments, and in the accomplishments of others. Stan was always the voice of calm and reason in the face of any storm.
During Stan’s career he had the opportunity to work internationally, including time stationed in Saudi Arabia, and other assignments in various regions of the Far East. Stan and his family moved to Denison, Texas in 1991, where he worked as plant manager for Kwikset. The family returned to southern California in 1995, bringing with them their Texas “souvenir,” daughter Amy, born during their stay.
Being with friends and family was a large part of Stan’s life, and while he enjoyed socializing, he was also often spearheading a family construction project or photographing still and action shots of loved ones.
Stan was a loving and devoted father to his daughters Alyssa and Amy. He was very involved and supportive of their academic, athletic, and other activities. Both girls have followed in their father’s footsteps; Alyssa received her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA in 2011, and Amy is a current student at UC Irvine, pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Stan’s love of life was accompanied by his love of friends, family and colleagues. From his early years, Stan’s self-sacrificing ways of helping others became a lifelong virtue. His strong sense of values, including honesty and work ethic have become role-models for many. Stan is survived by his wife, Helen, his daughters, Alyssa and Amy, his mother, Marlene Landry, step-mother, Geri Dunford, his brothers, Wyman (Marianne) and Phil, sister, Marlo Garrett (Tim), and extended family. The family finds comfort in the fact that Stan joins his father, Edsel Dunford, who passed away in 2008.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, February 25, 2012 at Oak Creek Golf Club in Irvine, CA at 1:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation be made to Habitat for Humanity, https://www.habitatoc.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=197, in Stan’s name. If a donation has been made, please notify O’Connor Mortuary, 25301 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Hills, CA 92653, (949) 581-4300, and include your name and address.
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51 responses to Stanley E. Dunford
mele pennings-flynn says:
February 20, 2012
Stan was the most easy going guy-easy to talk to, easy to listen to, easy to just sit in silence with. He was a positive person in a negative world. Allways helpful and generous with his time and insight. I feel for his girls, he wa so proud of them. He was a rolemodel for all of us.
Mele Pennings-Flynn
Sonia Halvorson Misialek says:
February 20, 2012
We have so many memories of Stan through the years and he will be missed by all. Our hearts go out to his family and friends, but we are comforted by the fact that he was met by an army of angels! Uncle John Halvorson, Cousins Sonia Misialek & family & Sandee Burns & family.
Susan Jones says:
February 20, 2012
Stan will truly be missed, he was admired by us all with his true kindness and support. My deepest sympathy go out to his family.
Susan Jones-Atlas
Tom Marquardt says:
February 20, 2012
My thoughts go out to all our friends at Atlas Carpet Mills and Stan’s family and friends, after the sudden and tragic loss of Stan Dunford.
As many of you know, the Atlas family has had a profound influence on me regarding how to run my business and the importance of working with ethics and respect. Jim Horwich, President of Atlas, leads his company with a strong moral compass has always shown great respect to his team and our studio, and has a passion for the work he inspires. He has been a role model for me in this respect, and paralleled everything I learned from my parents about responsibility and honoring others.
So it was not surprising that Jim brought in Stan Dunford to take over the VP of Manufacturing and Operations after John Morency retired. Stan had some big shoes to fill and did so with ease, winning the confidence of everyone at Atlas, and fit right in. Stan always greeted us with a smile whenever we had the opportunity to work together in Los Angeles or Chicago. He always expressed enthusiasm, a natural interest in what we were doing as well as the ideas and solutions we brought to the table for Atlas. His passion, clarity and pragmatism were immediate and genuine.
(He was even excited about the LED lamps we had just found and were testing in NYC with Mark a few weeks ago and I was looking forward to flying out to LA with the samples to show him what we found, as he understood and supported my passion for the detail, no matter how mundane it may seem to others!).
He made a great compliment to me during our most recent conference call by way of voicing the standards needed to be maintained as we discussed potential renovations to one of their LA facilities we had previously renovated in 1998; he said “we have a beautiful facility and whatever we do, that quality established here must be maintained or it’s not worth doing”. I was so moved and proud by that comment and it makes this all so much more bittersweet.
From my point of view he was a great mediator and solid anchor within the Atlas family and my heart goes out to everyone there, and his family and friends. Everyone we touch in life is precious and should never be taken for granted. I have few ways to honor Stan, so this little note is my small way to do so…
TOM
tom marquardt, principal I founder
marquardt+
Anonymous says:
February 20, 2012
Stan was truly one of the kindest and most gracious people I have ever been fortunate enough to know, the kind of person that the world is blessed to have even if only for much too short a time. My thoughts and prayers are with his family through this difficult time. He is already sorely missed.