Rowland Roosa Stanley
1920 - 2003

Services for longtime local resident Rowland Roosa Stanley will be held Friday, Oct. 24, at 2 p.m. 
at the First United Methodist Church of Bishop.  Rev. Caddy Jackson and Jim Upson, past master of 
Winnedumah Lodge 287, Free and Accepted Masons, will officiate.

Rowland, the son of Dr. Pendleton Stanley and Elizabeth Jeanne Roosa, was born Dec. 23, 1920 in 
Los Angeles.  He died at his home in Bishop on Oct. 17, 2003.

He served in the United States Navy aboard the USS Laffey during World War II and was in the 
Battle of Guadalcanal, where the ship was sunk.  Rowland was one of a handful of survivors.  
Using his excellent swimming skills, he recued many fellow sailors, for which he was awarded the 
Purple Heart.

Rowland came to Mono County in the early 1940s and lived in Lee Vining where he was instrumental 
in establishing the Lee Vining Fire Department.  He moved to June Lake in 1947, where he and his 
wife of 47 years, Barbara, owned and operated June Lake Junction.  He retired in 1976 and moved 
to Bishop, where he enjoyed golf, travel, photography, and was active in numerous groups, 
including the Inyo-Mono Shrine Club - Kerak Temple, the Winnedumah Lodge No. 287, F&AM, and the 
Laws Railroad Museum.

Barbara passed away in 1995 and Rowland was lucky enough to meet Florence Kruse.  They married 
in 1996 and enjoyed seven fun and wonderful years of traveling, including two cruises (the 
inland passage to Alaska and the Panama Canal).  They were involved in church activities and 
many organizations, including Eastern Star, and they had various other interests.

Rowland is survived by wife, Florence; daughter and son-in-law, Dorrance and Dale Howard of 
Ridgecrest, and their children, Dean, Duane, Dalene and Darren; daughter and son-in-law, Mindy 
and Dan Paranick of Crowley Lake, and their son, Randy; daughter, Bobbi Dore of Bishop, and 
her children, David and Ryan (and his wife Shannon and daughter Maia); brother and 
sister-in-law, Gail and Charlene Stanley of Julian; stepbrother, Bud Ranger of Huntington 
Beach; stepdaughter, Ginger Sagran of Wellington, Nev., and her children, Georgan Stottlemyre 
and Bob Wilson (and his wife Maureen); stepson, Al Kruse (deceased) and his children, Mark 
Kruse (and his wife Jacki) and Scott Kruse (and his wife Debbie); eight great-grandchildren; 
seven great-grandchildren; ten step-great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Donations in Rowland's memory may be made to Hospice of the Owens Valley, Amerian Cancer 
Society or the First United Methodist Church of Bishop.

The Inyo Register, Bishop, Inyo County, California
Tuesday, October 21, 2003 - Page A2
Transcribed by Pat Houser for Inyo County GenWeb, February 22, 2005