Stan passed away quickly and unexpectedly on the evening of Sunday, August 18 after a brief illness. Kind and good-hearted though he was, Stan’s heart gave out much too soon. Those who knew him knew a man whose personality was larger than life. His mind was a fishbowl of information, which made it possible for him to befriend people from all over the globe.
Stan attended St. Mathews School in Pacific Palisades, Brentwood Academy, and graduated from the Orme School in Arizona. After graduation, he was a guitarist in a local band before enlisting in the U.S. Navy. While in the Navy, he was appointed Operations Specialist First Class. After an honorable discharge in November 1975, he began working on a degree at West Los Angeles Community College. Eventually he became a lead airline mechanic for PSA (Piedmont/USAirways) – a position he would hold until 1993, when took over directing the strategy and operations of the family airline interiors business, Hardman Air Specialties.
Immensely curious and a lifelong learner, Stan eventually amassed three college degrees in Aviation Maintenance, Psychology and Information Systems from WLACC and the University of Phoenix.
Stan was devoted to the people around him and never left a friendship behind. He had friends all over the world. Those he’s now left behind will remember his easy humor, gentle spirit and openness to finding common ground and interests with virtually anyone.
Surviving Stan are his sister, Alix Parton of Whittier, North Carolina; ex-wife and dear friend, Kathy Fulford Hardman; daughter Lindsay Yousey (Marc) and son Travis Ward Hardman, both of greater Vancouver, Wash.; grandchildren, Dorothea and Mira; and many beloved cousins, nieces and nephews. Madonna Weeks was his long-time companion.
Predeceasing him were his parents, Anne Newell Hardman and Stanley Joseph Hardman; his brother Frank; and sister Helen Lou.
A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Saturday, August 31 at Gates Kingsley Gates, 4220 S. Sepulveda Blvd, Culver City. Stan’s family invites everyone who knew him to come with stories, memories, jokes and pictures of him. A reception with follow at Tower Pizza and Hacienda del Rey in Westchester.
Interment will follow later at the Hardman family burial site in Minneapolis.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating blood, becoming an organ or tissue donor, sending money to your local animal shelter, volunteering with veteran groups, helping the homeless, or those who are stricken by cancer or addiction. Or just tell someone you give a damn about them. All were causes near and dear to Stan’s heart.
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