John Lewis Stanley
- John Lewis Payson Stanley was born in Prayagraj (previously Alllahbad) India on January 4th,1924. John was the fourth & youngest child born to John W. Stanley & Zada Curtiss Stanley who met & married in India while serving as educators.
John’s family returned to the U.S. (Decatur, Ga) when John was six. John’s older siblings became instrumental in raising him after his mother died when he was eight.
John entered the Navy as an ensign during WWII, having just graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in chemical engineering. John led his children lustily singing “l’m a Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech” on car rides along with many other songs from his childhood & early years in the South.
John served as a navigator on a troop transport landing craft in the South Pacific. At the end of the war, he was assigned to the Seattle area ferrying supplies & troops during the discharge process. He met his wife, Margaret (Helen Arnst Stanley) in church in Seattle. Margaret always said John’s competitive nature playing Chinese Checkers & other various games of the era cemented their relationship. They married in 1948 and the newlyweds returned to Georgia where John began medical school at Emory University where he completed a residency at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. John transferred to the University of Washington where he graduated from UW Medical School in 1951 & completed his residency there.
In 1953 John joined a very small practice in downtown Bremerton that was to become the future Doctors’ Clinic. John & his young family quickly became active & enthusiastic members of the Bremerton community.
During his decades of family practice, John made many, many house calls, delivered over 4,000 babies, made daily hospital rounds, visited his nursing home patients regularly assisted in surgeries & cared for generations of Kitsap County families. John dedicated himself to medical missions in the neediest of southeast Asian & Indonesian countries.
John & Margaret had three children; Ann, Carol, & John C. Margaret’s mother, Anna, lived with the family for many years. There was always love, faith & generosity in the family home. They hosted numerous exchange students & invited sailors stationed in Bremerton for home cooked dinners. The family were active members of St. Luke’s Methodist Church.
John loved the outdoors. He was dedicated to physical fitness & healthy living his entire life. He loved playing tennis, racquet ball, hiking at Mount Rainier & in the Olympics and spending time landscaping, swimming, sailing & playing volleyball at the family cabin on Tiger Lake. He finally hung up his tennis racquet at age 93.
The Bremerton community benefited from John’s generosity of time, leadership, & financial support. Most close to his heart were Rotary International, Harrison Hospital, The Boy Scouts of America (he & son, John both obtained the rank of Eagle Scout), & in later years the Boys & Girls Club.
John lovingly cared for his wife, Margaret throughout the course of her battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. She died just short of their 60th wedding anniversary.
John married his 2nd wife, Carol Noble, in 2009, having met her while attending local ballroom dancing events. The couple moved to Carol’s hometown of Port Orchard.
John passed away at his home on Sept 21, 2023. He is survived by his three children: Ann Stanley Lewis (Dave), Carol Stanley Donovan (Jim) & John C. Stanley (Kathy). John leaves 10 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren & two nieces & their families in Georgia & Tennessee. His 2nd wife Carol also survives him.
All will greatly miss him & will treasure his strong character of practicality, servitude, positivity, courage in the face of challenge, & dedication to family. His was a life well lived.
The family will celebrate John’s life with a private service.