Stanford Ronald Bardsley

Stanford Ronald Bardsley was born in Centerfield, Utah, to Ronald Bardsley and Delta Viola Christensen on Christmas Eve, 1933. He was the second of three children and spoke fondly of his days spent playing with his sisters Gloria and Lois at their childhood homes in Centerfield and Los Angeles.

Stan met his sweetheart, Patricia Gail Powelson, at East High School in Salt Lake City. The two were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on June 14, 1957, and eventually had three children of their own.

Stan studied briefly at Brigham Young University before beginning two years of service in the U.S. Army. He was stationed at Fort Ord in California. After his military service, Stan completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geological engineering at the University of Utah.

Stan had a very successful career in oil and gas exploration, eventually starting two of his own exploration companies. Although an astute businessman, he kept up on the science, often surprising his own geologists with how much he knew. His work frequently took him on extended travel in the Mountain West, the Gulf States, and even overseas. Stan often spoke of his experience representing the United States in the First International Oil Shale Symposium sponsored by United Nations in the USSR in 1968.

Although Stan spent several years running an office in Houston, he and Patricia made a home in Salt Lake City — first in East Millcreek and later in Olympus Cove. In his free time, Stan loved boating and often boasted of teaching scores of young men and women in his ward how to water ski. In his younger years, he also skied, played tennis, and golfed.

Stan and Patricia loved to travel and visited many European countries as well as Egypt, Israel, China, Russia, and more. The pair had a seemingly endless tolerance for road trips. They would regularly drive to St. George and back in a single day or drive from St. George to Los Angeles just for lunch at their favorite restaurant. They took their children and grandchildren on many vacations including annual trips to the beach and other trips abroad. They owned several homes in Jackson Hole and St. George over their lives, where they loved to visit.

Stan was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for his whole life, although his health made it difficult to attend regular services in his later years. Stan and Patricia both served as ordinance workers in the Salt Lake Temple.

Stan was quietly sentimental. He left behind a mountain of photographs he took of his family as well as tidy boxes stuffed with old letters, postcards, Christmas cards, and newspaper clippings. His family will remember him as a true gentleman impeccably dressed with a comb always in his wallet, someone who laughed easily and almost never raised his voice, a father and grandfather who loved to do things for his children and grandchildren, and a doting husband who was worried about Patricia’s happiness and comfort until the very end.

Stan passed away due to complications from cancer in the early hours of Sunday, July 3, 2022. He leaves behind his wife, Patricia; younger sister, Lois Bardsley; and three children, Brian Douglas Bardsley (Gloria), Lori Ann Bardsley Brown (Brian), and Brett Allen Bardsley (Alison). He is also survived by 11 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

A viewing will be held Saturday, June 9, at 10:00 a.m. at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park followed by a memorial service and graveside dedication.