Bruce Stanley

Robert Bruce Stanley, son of the late Edward and Zora (Church) Stanley was born on February 27, 1940 at his parents’ home and grew up in Pocahontas, Virginia. On December 9, 2015 he lost his long battle with leukemia. In 2015 he celebrated his 75th birthday with a party sharing his love of travel. He had been to almost all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Europe. He joined the Army at the age of 16 and had his first jump from an airplane before his 17th birthday. His love for aviation started back then and he went on to become a certified pilot and flew his friends and family to many fun destinations. He was a member of Quiet Birdmen. The army sent him to Alaska and when he got off the bus they issued him a pair of White Cadillacs as he called them. He was a member of the 82nd Airborne and the Army Honor Guard. He participated in the festivities when Alaska received its statehood. In the late 1960’s he started R.B. Stanley and Son carpentry business, which later grew into Stanley Builders. For almost 40 years he was a custom builder of both residential and light commercial work and developer of many sub divisions. During these years he made many friendships with his clients because of his caring and quality work. Dedicated to the home building industry, he served as President of the Home Builders Association of Delaware and was the Delaware representative to the National Association of Home Builders. Bruce is survived by his wife, Carolyn; his two sons, Michael (Trinity) and John (Laura); his two daughters, Melissa (Tim) Roark, Yvonne (Todd) Sigman, and his surrogate daughter, Sherri (Pete) Hull; 14 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, Charles (Barbara); sister, Pearl (Ron) Knopp and his special niece Ginny (Ken) Stanley. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by three sisters, Janet, Phyllis, and Eddie. Bruce was a member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church of Odessa. A memorial service will be held at 3:30 pm on Sunday, December 13, 2015 at the MOT Senior Center, 300 S. Scott Street, Middletown, DE 19709. Bruce would not want any tears, so please bring along your happy memories of your interactions with him to share with his grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, Bruce’s request is to have an education account set up for his youngest grandsons. Donations may be made to the Deacon and Rory Stanley Education Account and mailed to Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Home, 1000 N. DuPont Parkway, New Castle, DE 19720.