About Stan: ...I'm not into writing about myself in the third person... such things always read like a resume, a police report, or an obituary... I've done enough of the first two to last a lifetime, and the latter I'm not quite ready for yet...(rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated...). So while summarizing the last 47+ years of life isn't tops on my 'bucket list', it's probably not a bad thing to do, if for no other reason than that I'm still around to do it... and while certainly not as accomplished as many of you have been (never having discovered a cure for the common cold, invented anything as earth shattering as the Internet, or winning the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing World Peace and geopolitical tranquility to mankind...) there's not much I would have done differently, and most certainly nothing I regret... to paraphrase the words of Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr... "I have to say it now it's been a good life all in all, it's really fine to have a chance to hang around... lie here by th' fire, and watch the evening 'tire, with all my friends, and my Dear Lady sit and pass th' pipe around"...

... I remember the day after graduation ...where we heard talk of following our dreams for the future, and euphoric words of encouragement... of how we all had such wonderful lives to look forward to, etc., etc... the next day I was mowing the never ending lawn around the apartment complex my parents managed at the time when one of you (I don't remember who) drove up and told me of the fatal auto accident that ended those dreams for Wanda Judkins and her family... and it made an impression on me... a pretty deep and lasting impression... made me realize how fragile life actually is...

.... I determined not to waste it trying to become what everyone else was trying to be or thought I should be but rather to live life on my own terms and not let it pass without seriously participating...

... headed off to EMU for an education and got a job (along with Bob Boehne and Paul Loeber) spraying paint on Chevy Novas and Corvairs at the Willow Run Fisher Body plant to pay for it... got about two years in towards a political science degree with the vague idea that I would enjoy warping the minds of young Americans by fooling someone into thinking I could be a teacher... or perhaps better, to wreak havoc on the world in general as an attorney... but they were giving a war at the time, and were just about to invite me to participate... so coming from a family of Scots who had all been Navy since Captain Cook (... Dad with the Canadians in WWII, Grandad with the Brits in WWI, a Great Grandad who probably sailed with Sir Francis Drake, and a Great-Great Grandad who I'm pretty sure crewed for Blackbeard...) I thought I'd attend dressed in Navy blue rather than OD green... Dad had already told me not to bother coming home on leave if I let myself get drafted into the army ... besides which, I wasn't comfortable with the idea of possibly getting killed and didn't really have anyone in particular that I wanted to kill either so it pretty much fit my situation all around...

... went around the world twice courtesy of the U.S. Navy on a variety of ships...SCUBA dived every ocean except the Indian, Arctic and Antarctic... sailed with the Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club for awhile... spent three days in a Spanish jail in Barcelona... cruised the Mediterranean Sea and the Caribbean Sea a lot (favorite port 'o' call was Athens, Greece... least favorite was Port-au-Prince, Haiti), and after a few years had the dubious honor of having my Honorable Discharge signed by the somewhat less than honorable Richard M. Nixon... ironic at best, 'eh? Anyway, very shortly before joining the Navy I'd met and married one of the most wonderful women in the world so when I returned to Ypsilanti I found I had a wife, two kids, a mortgage, a car payment, and a couple of years of college yet to finish... the only thing in my life that I didn't owe anything on was my Harley...

... I figured I'd better get a job...

... shortly before I embarked for the adventurous life on the high seas, I'd also left the employ of GM and began working at The Ypsilanti Savings Bank, so it seemed appropriate to return there for employment and after doing so, I stayed for over 20 years... during which time I finished college and Rosemary and I had a total of three children... two daughters (Eva and Sara) with a son (Aaron) sandwiched in between... Rosie was truly a Proverbs 31 woman, and together we fought a war of our own with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia for thirteen of those years after which her Lord graciously rewarded her with Eternal Life in His Presence in 1992... two years later our son Aaron joined her when he was murdered in Florida...

... it was the darkest time of my life...

...during our 23 years together Rosemary and I experienced a full and rewarding life of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, band concerts and football games, cross country, swimming and gymnastics meets, and during the last year a German exchange student (Ulrike Pietsch) whom I still think of as 'our daughter who lives in Germany', along with all the other normal activities of American Family Life... camping and canoe trips, summer days sailing Lake Huron out of Port Hope and winter weekends shooting at the Alpena property... tried out for the 1976 Olympic U.S. Mens' Ice Hockey Team (got beat up pretty badly for about 30 minutes, handed a souvenir belt buckle and told 'Thanks, but no thanks')... elected to two terms (8 years) on the Ypsilanti Board of Education, spent one year as its President and another as its Vice President... served as Financial Secretary for our church (Faith Lutheran of Ypsilanti), and rose through the ranks of the bank's management and mortgage loan department... when banks began buying each other up and changing names during the 80's fellow classmate Dan Jefferies and I spent some time working together at what was at that time the Ann Arbor Bank and Trust Co... hey Dan, remember 'The Dan and Stan Show'? ... fun times, eh..?

... but when Rosemary came out of remission in the late 80's - early 90's I took what was to become the last year of her life on this Earth (although neither of us knew it at the time) as a leave of absence from gainful employment and devoted all of my time toward her, making good on what I promised her (and the Lord) I would do... 'in sickness and in health'... it turned out to be one of the BEST years of our marriage, and after her passing I declined a return to the banking business, embarking instead on a solo career of independent financial consulting for small to medium sized businesses who found themselves mired in IRS problems or labor contract issues, etc., taking the position of Comptroller in their company to resolve their short term financial situations...

... but by this time our kids were pretty much grown and gone in their own direction(s) and without my life partner I was floundering... so I liquidated the remainder of our assets in Michigan and at the invitation of her brother headed to Florida to partner with him in continuing their father's Mobile Home & RV dealership in Winter Garden... it didn't take long however, to see that the old adage of blood and money not being a good mix was definitely a truism and since I was tired of being a blue jeans guy trapped in a 3 piece suit anyway, I broke off and began my own Mobile Home Transport and Installation business... "Sea Ventures" (named after our three kids,Sara, Eva, and Aaron) driving a Freightliner hauling mobile homes and RV's, I was that 'WIDE LOAD' guy you hate to go around on the Interstate... owned and operated that until 2006 when I met the other most wonderful woman in the world Sandi... truly another Proverbs 31 woman...

... again I sold off my business and equipment, and moved to Kentucky to be with her...

... Sandi was a 27 year Special Education teacher in the Kentucky Public School System of Graves County and the administrator of their JKG (Jobs for Kentucky Graduates) program... and they even let me substitute teach from time to time (imagine THAT..!!)... we were married on Christmas Day 2006 (I think she chose that day to be sure I would remember our anniversary...) and to the union (a second for both of us) I brought 6 grandchildren and Sandi brought 5 for a total of 11... Truly a merging of two families into one and we all fit together wonderfully (photos available upon request)... but in 2009 Sandi suffered a series of strokes while on the table undergoing heart bypass surgery and although together we made a relatively speedy path through her rehabilitation to the point where she was anxious to return to the classroom, God had other plans for her and through an undiagnosed liver cancer gave her a gracious and merciful reunion with her Savior in May of 2011...

... so at present I find myself back home in Michigan with my girls and my grands... living in Milan, and enjoying every day as if it were my last... remembering as much of the good times as I can and happily ignoring any sadness or worries that may threaten to overshadow them... keeping my Faith in a God who is The Giver of all GOOD things and comfortable in knowing that He is in control of and for the remainder of my days... Jeremiah 29 v 11 has become a mainstay in my life, as it was in Sandi's...

... and while this has been more lengthy than the usual fare, it's mostly true and whatever isn't at the very least has some entertainment value... if not, why are you still reading..? So if the Good Lord's willing and th' creeks don't rise I'll be with you all in 2016 to fill in whatever blanks remain... until then... keep the rubber side down and the shiny side up... stay outta the ditches and away from the witches... and if I don't see ya' in the Future, I'll see ya' in His Green Pastures... or beside the Still Waters...

Message to Classmates: ... I'm finding it incredibly interesting to read what each of us has done with all that "wisdom and understanding" with which we were endowed during our time at LHW... Proverbs 4 v 7...

... and with my apologies to Grantland Rice...

'For when that One Great Scorer comes to write against our names, He'll write not that we won or lost, but how we played the game...'

Obituary: Stan wrote the above in 2012. On December 12, 2015, Stan passed away. He was 67. His obituary follows:

Stanley Joseph Addison, age 67, died peacefully Saturday, December 12, 2015. He was a good and decent human being and will be greatly missed. Stan married Rosemary (Harvey) Addison on June 22, 1969. She preceded him in death on June 28, 1992. Also preceding him in death were his son Aaron Jay Addison, second wife Sandra Simpkins Armstrong Addison, mother Lorraine (Wheale) Addison, father George Wood Addison, and youngest sister Helen Addison. He is survived by one sister, Kathleen Louise (Addison) Simpson, whom he loved most dearly. He is also survived by his daughters, Eva Addison Franklin (Ken) and Sara Rose Addison. Additionally, he is also survived by daughters from his second marriage Kristin Armstrong Skebo (Bob), and Kara Armstrong Colburn (Alan). Stan shared his love of canoeing, fishing, shooting, chess, duct tape and tractors with his surviving grandchildren; Samuel, Rosemary, Miriam, and Jakob Franklin, Addison Joseph and Cady Schorr, and from his second marriage Micah, Miriam, Samuel, Seth, and Magdalene Skebo, and John Davis Colburn.

Stan graduated from Detroit Lutheran High School West in 1966 and is still friends with many of his classmates. Stan completed his college education in 1981 at Eastern Michigan University following his service in the United States Navy from 1969 to 1975. He served with distinction as an electronics technician aboard the U.S.S. Columbus and he was honorably discharged in 1975. He loved to tell stories of the many places they visited and adventures he had.

He ended a 24 year career at the Ypsilanti Savings Bank, and its subsequent name changes, by launching his own transportation and logistics relocation business, SEA Ventures (named for his children), in Florida. He moved to Kentucky at the time of his second marriage and then, after his beloved wife Sandy passed, he moved home to Michigan to spend more time with his family.

Stan attended Congregation Zera Avraham, a Messianic Jewish synagogue, and derived much spiritual solace and peace under the rabbinical guidance of Rabbi Doctor Mark Kinzer and in his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The family will receive visitors at Ochalek-Stark Funeral Home in Milan Michigan from 4-7pm on Wednesday, December 16th. The funeral service will be conducted by Rabbi Kinzer at Ochalek- Stark Funeral Home on Thursday, December 17th at 11 am. Interment will follow at Acacia Park Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan. In lieu of flowers, Stan has requested donations be made to Congregation Zera Avraham, P.O Box 2025, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106.