Lawrence Stanley Perez was born February 13, 1955 in East Los Angeles, California. He grew up in Hacienda Heights, California and graduated from Los Altos High School. In 1973, at the age of 18 he began working at the Sara Lee Restaurant at Disneyland in New Orleans Square as a bus boy. Every morning before he began work he would visit Casa de Fritos across the way in Adventure Land and ordered his breakfast from one particular cashier. He would later ask that cashier on a date and eventually ask her to be his wife. On June 18, 1977 they were married.
In January of 1974 he joined the US Navy. He was assigned to the USS Enterprise and stationed in Miramar, California. He was a primary a/c on the E2-8 Hawkeye VAW113. He also worked on the F3 Phantoms, A4 Skyhawk, F14 Tomcat, A7 Corsairs, C2 Cargo, A6 & EA6B and the A5 Vigilante. During his last float his then wife gave birth to their first child, a daughter, in 1978. He met her for the first time when she was 3 months old. They would later welcome two more children. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in January of 1979.
After the Navy he began work at Garrett Air-research where he was a mechanic for 7 years working on the F111, space shuttle, C5 and more. From there he worked briefly with Northrup on the F20 Tiger Shark and eventually he settled at McDonnell Douglas, which would later become Boeing, on the MD-80, MD-87, MD-90, T-45 and finally the C-17. He would travel to military bases all over the world repairing the C-17 for the US Air Force as a QA Manager. He spent 41.5 years working in aerospace serving his country in the civilian sector and retired from Boeing in 2017.
Stan was an avid hunter who loved the outdoors. He enjoyed fishing, hiking, backpacking through places like the Grand Canyon and camping with his family. He was also a master gunsmith and he was excellent at his craft. In his later years he pursued his passion for Harley Davidson motorcycles completing the Iron Butt Challenge in 2007 and riding 1,042 miles in under 24 hours. He enjoyed many bike rides with his son. He also dedicated himself to helping local charities. He participated in toy drive bike rides for Peace Officer Firefighter Fellowship, Salvation Army bike rides carrying backpacks of necessities for the homeless in Santa Ana, Garden Grove San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel and San Marcos, California. His community service included feeding the homeless in Garden Grove, California for the Calvary Chapel Westgrove, toy runs for the USMC Camp Pendleton and working at the OC Rescue Mission.
Stan had a sarcastic sense of humor and was excellent at the game, Cards Against Humanity. A game he enjoyed playing with his adult children. He was an excellent cook and was best known for his pumpkin pies at Thanksgiving time. He was a man who could fix anything, build anything and he always did it well. He was a great friend to everyone he met and was always willing to help those in need. He was Christian man and his faith was incredibly important to him. He believed that riches came from his spiritual work through God and what he put into the world including the people in his life that he loved. Family was everything to him.
Stan is survived by his three children: Cynthia Medina of Beaumont, CA, Melissa Krycerick of Farmington, CT and Lawrence S. Perez II of Aliso Viejo, CA. He is also survived by his eight grandchildren: Mia Diaz, Jonathon Delayo, Christopher Delayo, Alyssa Delayo, Natalie Krycerick, Drew Krycerick, Tristan Krycerick, Keira Krycerick and his great granddaughter Bella Diaz. He is preceded in death by his father, Ralph M. Perez and survived by his mother, “Cookie” Perez, brother, Allen Perez and sister Nanette Perez.
A Visitation will be held on Sunday, December 01, 2019 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM, and from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM, with a Funeral Service at 2:00 PM, at Surprise Funeral Care, 16063 W. Bell Road, Surprise, Arizona.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider making a charitable donation in memory of Stan to the Wounded Warriors Project at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
To sign the guestbook online and to share memories, and send condolences and well-wishes to the family, please visit, www.surprisefuneralcare.com.
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