Preston
John Stanley (named for his grandfather) was born in Parsonsfield February 20,
1904 to Sidney B. and Blanche (Page) Stanley, one of six children. He was educated at Parsonsfield schools, graduated
from Porter High School in 1921, attended the University of Maine, and
graduated from New England College of Science in Boston in 1940.
On June 23, 1928 he married Evelyn Watson
and they had two children: Barbara Ann born December 25, 1929, who died in 1941
and Preston John Stanley, Jr. born August 1, 1935. They resided on Summer Street in Porter
(Kezar Falls Village).
He and his two brothers owned and ran the
family trucking business – Stanley Express.
He also owned half of the Stanley Funeral Home with his brother Orion whom
he bought out in 1945 and continued to operate it until 1975.
“Pres” was known for his community
spirit. He had a great love for the town
where he grew up and served it well all his life. He served as a Porter selectman for nine
years and served one term as state legislator in 1949.
He served on numerous boards,
including the Maine State Grange for 50 years; the Ossipee Valley Health Center
of Kezar Falls; the
Ossipee
Valley Fair of Hiram (a founding member); Kezar Falls National Bank; trustee of
the Riverside United Methodist Church, Porter Meals on Wheels and past
president of the Kezar Falls Burial Grounds.
He was also a member of the Kezar
Falls & Cornish Kiwanis Club, Porter Grange, Knights of Pythias, Porter
Civil Defense, Maine Draft and Ox Associations, Maine Funeral Directors
Association, and a charter member of the Parsonsfield Porter Historical
Society.
“Pres” played a huge role in founding
the Porter Industrial Development Program and donated the land for the Vulcan
Electric building so that more jobs could be brought to town.
He
started the Methodist Men’s Breakfast Club and with his wife started the
Riverside United Methodist Church Food Pantry that grew to include the towns of
Cornish, and West Baldwin.
“Pres” had a great love of animals and kept
cattle and oxen at the former family farm in Parsonsfield. When he wasn’t working on a civic project, he
could be found working with his team of two-and-a-half-ton oxen in the mornings
until the age of 89. At one point he had
one of the largest pairs of oxen in Maine and was well-known from Kittery to
Fort Kent. At the age of 85 he won the
international pull at Cumberland Fair and competed in Nova Scotia.
He also loved to hunt and fish and
with a group of friends called the “Colcord Bears” met for 22 years, one
weekend for ice fishing and a weekend for hunting, at his camp on Colcord Pond.
Preston passed away at the age of 94
on September 19, 1998. His widow, Evelyn
passed away on March 13, 2002.
