Dennis Stanley passed away peacefully, surrounded by family and friends on Thursday, October 13th 2022 after a tenacious battle with pancreatic cancer.

Dennis Stanley, born November 11 1959, was the tenth of twelve children born to Wayne and Doris “Babe” Stanley in Los Angeles and was raised in the suburb of Glendale. He graduated from Bellarmine-Jefferson High in 1978 and soon after moved to Santa Barbara, where he resided for 40 years. He met his wife Mary Crawshaw in 1987 and married in 1988 after moving into the community of Painted Cave in the mountains of Santa Barbara. He is survived by his wife Mary and two sons, Jason and Justin.

From a young age, Dennis and his family would camp in the Sierras to fish and explore, with a special fondness for Lake Lundy. He maintained this tradition and interest in nature and often focused family vacations on natural destinations like the Sierras, Big Sur, Yosemite, and Yellowstone. If Dennis had a campsite with a fire going and a barbecue, he was happy – wherever he was.

Sports were a big part of Dennis’s life as well, with plenty of baseball games with his brothers and friends while growing up. The Dodgers were a fixture in life for him and his family, but Dennis also followed Rams and Lakers games closely.

Dennis also loved to garden and work in the yard – as soon as the weather warmed in Spring, he would have tomato and pepper plants in the ground and a beautiful green lawn. When the work of the day was done, you’d likely find him relaxing on the deck sitting in the sun. When the first tomatoes of the season were ripening, he would pluck one off the vine and eat it in the garden – and you could tell he was proud.

Dennis is best known in the community for running a local plumbing and hardware business in Ventura, though he has always been an exceptional tradesman. Through his 18 years owning Steve’s Plumbing & Hardware, Dennis made many lasting friendships with his employees, customers, and local plumbers alike. As much an authority on plumbing and home repairs, Dennis was a fixture for the community and represented the rare surviving “mom and pop” business.

Dennis’s love for simple family life was equaled by his kind nature, gentle soul, and generous heart. While a man of few words, he was a wealth of knowledge for any kind of home project and shared his skills freely.

We miss Dennis so much, yet we are thankful for the time we had with him. We will continue to honor him with our memories and cherish his contributions and enrichment to our lives.

Obituary written by Jason Stanley.

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