Cal Stanley

Cal left for his heavenly home on Sunday, March 9th.

Cal was born in Ohio, the 7th son of nine children (six older brothers, a younger brother and sister). He married his high school sweetheart, Theresa, and they were married over 47 years. They had 4 sons; CJ (Kelly), Anthony, Joe, Greg (Samantha). He always wanted a girl and that came in the form of granddaughters - he had 5. The granddaughters brought him so much joy. He loved to take them on walks, on bike rides, to visit colleagues at work, take them to Costco, or just push them on the swings.

After high school he joined the Air Force, where he was a flight line mechanic on C-5s and A-10s. After leaving the Air Force he finished his Bachelors and then went on to get his Masters, both from the University of Arizona; later he would be awarded his doctorate from Pepperdine University.

Cal loved his job as a math instructor at Pima Community College, after having taught in Tucson Unified School District. His favorite subject to teach was statistics. He would spend many nights and evenings creating videos or meeting with students, always trying to help them understand the material. He also loved technology, being an early adopter, “playing” and sharing what he knew with others.

When not working, or being with family, he loved to ride his bike. Even in the Tucson summers, he would get up at 4:30am to ride before it got hot, many days doing 40 miles. He enjoyed riding The Loop. He rode in the Tour de Tucson several times, as well as several other local benefit rides. He liked to ride when traveling, riding in the Honolulu Century Ride on Oahu, The Paradise Ride on Kauai, on the Big Island, and in northern Ohio. He enjoyed cooking outside - using his Weber to BBQ or his Blackstone to make pizzas. He got a new Weber smoker this past Christmas; his smoked salmon was so good! He also loved to travel. He would sit with Theresa on the beaches in Hawaii, ride on the ferry across Lake Erie, eat beignets at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, find the best fruit stands in Utah, drive the US to visit family and friends, go to rockhounding sites, national monuments and parks, and even take in a quilt shop or two. For several years he towed an RV, which he enjoyed and was very good at backing up; he said backing up C-5s gave him all the practice he needed.

Cal loved basketball. When his boys were young, he coached their teams, as well as refereed games. He was the girls basketball coach at Santa Rita and Tucson High Schools, and later coached boys Jr. Varsity basketball at Catalina High School. He enjoyed watching college basketball, even while in the hospital.

He was preceded in death by his parents and two of his brothers.

The family would like to thank all the doctors and nurses at Banner University Medical Center, Tucson Medical Center, Arizona Oncology, Arizona Community Physicians, and especially Dr. Mohammed Khreiss and Dr. Aung Baja, who without their care he would not have been around as long as he was. He was a cancer survivor. He wanted people to know that, having survived 4 different cancers: renal/kidney (4 different times), pancreatic, thyroid, and skin (melanoma). He was a fighter to the very end.

Visitation will be at Bring’s Broadway Chapel (6910 E. Broadway Blvd, Tucson, AZ 85710) on Thursday, March 27th, from 6:00 - 8:00pm, with Rosary at 7:30pm. A Mass will be held on Friday, March 28th, at 10:00am at St Pius X Church (1800 N Camino Pio Decimo, Tucson AZ 85715). Interment will take place at a later date. The family will be having an hor d’oeuvres reception after the Mass at their home.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to “St. Pius X Knights of Columbus Council 10762”. (1800 N Camino Pio Decimo, Tucson AZ 85715)

He is missed dearly.