Thomas Willow Stanley

Thomas "Tom" Willow Stanley was born on December 12, 1943 in Bakersfield, California to Willow and Juanita (Nita) Stanley. Tom passed away peacefully on Friday, September 3rd at the age of 77 at his residence in Bakersfield California. Tom is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Brent & Kim Stanley and son, Scott Stanley, as well as two granddaughters, Lauren & Allie Stanley, his sister Betty Wiggins, brother and sister-in-law Jerry & Gwen Stanley and sister-in-law Darlene Stanley. He is preceded in death by his wife, Lynette, his parents, Nita and Willow, as well as his brother, Bill Stanley and brother-in-law, Larry Wiggins.

Tom graduated from Bakersfield High School and received his AA degree from Bakersfield College. Tom proudly served in the Army National Guard before becoming a journeyman refrigeration contractor and ultimately a General Contractor. Tom retired from a long and successful building construction career after nearly 40 years. Tom left behind many successful building accomplishments that he was very proud to build, namely the "Kern County Black Gold Oil Museum" as well as numerous Kern County schools and countless custom homes.

Tom loved his devoted wife of 52 years, Lynette, and was devastated by her passing in 2019. Tom loved his two sons and always was active in their lives. From countless years of coaching soccer & helping build science projects to years of working with the boys on their seemingly endless construction projects they had on their own homes. He loved buying his sons tools annually for their birthdays and Christmas and especially loved working close with his sons on their projects. Tom was "Ha Ha Tom" to his granddaughters, "Dad" to his sons, and T.W. to many of his friends. Tom's middle name, "Willow" was given to the eldest son in the entire Stanley family and was Tom's father's given first name. Tom was proud to carry the "Willow" name as it was a tribute to his great grandfather Edwin Willow, who was one of the pioneers who helped Bakersfield emerge from its frontier past into a modern city. Tom was very patient with all, but especially patient when he had the opportunity to work with kids to help teach them building skills and how to make something with their own two hands. Tom loved going to the Bakersfield High School Drillers football games as well as the Bakersfield Renegades football games. If the teams were not having a good season, he always remained a loyal fan, but the endless bags of salted peanuts helped him cope. Tom was especially excited to attend his granddaughters’ tennis & basketball games to cheer them on.

One of Tom's true loves was his annual camping trip to Huntington Lake which started when he was 9 years old. Tom was a skilled camper and loved organizing the annual camping trip, coordinating the daily menu for the entire family and even raked the campsite so no one had to sleep on sticks and pinecones. Tom never showed up underprepared, if a half cord of wood would suffice, he would bring up a full cord of firewood to make doubly sure. Tom loved having a campfire burning throughout the three to four days of camping. He demonstrated his camp cooking skills by cooking every breakfast, lunch and dinner over the campfire for the 20-30 family members who attended. Tom loved to enjoy the campfire surrounded by his family and relaxing in his own tent which was dubbed "The Snack & Snore" due to Tom's love for sweets and his terrible snoring. Tom enjoyed his vacations to Pismo Beach with the cool weather, a cinnamon roll from "Old West Cinnamon Roll" in the morning and a scoop of bubblegum ice cream from "The Scoop" to finish up the day. Tom was known for his insatiable sweet tooth. He loved any kind of candy, cookies & ice cream. He was often known to have a tub of Red Vines in his truck. Even when he had lost a lot of his appetite due to dialysis, he was happy to have some Dewar’s ice cream or a PayDay candy bar. Tom loved his San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Dodger and never missed watching them play.

Tom was a loving son, husband, father, brother, grandfather and friend to all. He loved having neighbors come by and chat and was always one to help his neighbors by loaning them tools and giving them a hand.

A graveside service for Thomas will be held Friday, October 8, 2021 from 9:15 AM to 10:00 AM at Bakersfield National Cemetery, 30338 East Bear Mountain Blvd., Arvin, CA 93203.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hillcrestmemorial.com for the Stanley family.