Mary Ellen Stanley

Mary Ellen Stanley, age 86, of Fredericksburg, Virginia passed away on Monday, January 30, 2023. Mary was born July 13, 1936 in Oak Park, Illinois to Willard Lavern Arnold and Ellen Douglas Wright Arnold. Her parents were college friends of her future husband, Roy Morgan Stanley II's parents and Mary joked that she met Roy when they were both infants. Mary and Roy enjoyed 64 years of marriage before he passed away in 2020. Mary Ellen grew up in Kenilworth, Illinois. Her grandparents lived in northern Indiana and she loved visiting them with her little brother and two little sisters in the summer at Lake Tippecanoe and Lake Webster. She graduated from New Trier Township High School in 1954. She was the yearbook assistant editor and was a member of the synchronized swim club. Both she and Roy attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. She pledged Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, was president of the synchronized swim club, edited the campus newspaper, and was the president of the Mortar Board Honorary. Mary and Roy were also members of the rifle team, and she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa honor society and graduated with honors in 1958. The summer following graduation, Roy and Mary Ellen were married at the Kenilworth Union Church. They took up residence in Wilmette, Illinois while Roy completed his Master's Degree and Mary Ellen worked at the Hadley School for the Blind. They briefly moved to Texas in 1959 where Roy went to Photo Interpreter school at Sheppard Air Force Base. The couple then moved to Yokota Air Base near Tokyo, Japan. They made many life-long friends there and enjoyed traveling all throughout Japan and Thailand. Mary Ellen studied Ikebana, the art of flower arranging, for eight years and earned certificates in both Misho and Ohara Schools. In 1970, they returned to the United States and made Fairfax, Virginia their home. Upon Roy's retirement in 1984, they built their dream home in Spotsylvania County and Mary Ellen has been living here happily ever since. Mary volunteered for a multitude of organizations from her college years until 2017. These organizations included The Yokota Officers' Wives Club, Cub Scout Den Mother, the American Red Cross, she was a Girl Scout Troop Leader, Service Unit Chairman for the Scouts, Truro Episcopal Church volunteer, Friends of the Rappahannock, Water Quality Monitor, a member of the Daughters od the American Revolution Mine Run Chapter, Newcomers and Old Friends Club, and The Board of Directors of River Bluffs Owners Association. Her favorite things to do were feeding the birds, squirrels, raccoons, deer, possums, and occasionally the accidental bear (not on Purpose!!), gardening (her love for gardening was legendary), reading, family genealogy, and spending time with her two cats, Sugar and Tip. Mary Ellen was a loving and generous soul. She is survived by two of her siblings, three children and six grandchildren. We are all going to miss turning to her for wisdom, advice, good recipes, book recommendations, and affection. We look forward to sharing smiles, tears and flowers at a celebration of Mary Ellen Stanley's long and wonderful life on Saturday, February 25, 2023 at 11 am at Mullins & Thompson Funeral Service, 1621 Emancipation Hwy., Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.mullinsthompsonfredericksburg.com for the Stanley family.