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STANLEY FRANK “ALOYSIUS” SMITH. UNCLE STANLEY, GRANDPA STAN. Poet Laureate of White Rock, Punter Extraordinaire, went to the great racetrack in the sky, May 1, 2014, at 90 years of age. Right now Stanley is convincing St. Peter to put $10.00 to win on Beetlebug in the fourth. Stanley “Aloysius” as he called himself, soldiered through years of heart problems, only to succumb to what’s not supposed to kill you. He had

Prostate Cancer. He asked me to tell his legion of friends – get it out: forget the “you’ll die with it, not from it” school of thought. Stanley was the classic “diamond in the rough”, rising from great poverty, virtually without education, he succeeded masterfully in career, love and friends. In the 60’s he managed the Canadian Boxing team at the Pan American Games in Jamaica. His life was starred with astonishing good luck, surviving combat while his friends fell like flies, living through the sinking of a warship to a Japanese torpedo; surviving 3 days adrift in a lifeboat in the South Seas. He won first prize on Lotto 649, only to give it all to his family. After years of losing at the track, he joked that with his lotto win, he just broke even. The only person Stanley was ever cheap with was himself. Sixty-seven years ago Stanley had the great fortune to marry his beautiful Ida. Though she is largely lost to Alzheimer’s, still alive but virtually gone, he lived with her and loved her every day ‘til his last breath. Throughout this community, Stanley Smith lit up the hearts and smiles of all he met. He left no one untouched. The halls of South Point Save-On, the Peninsula Liquor Store and Fraser Downs Racetrack will never be the same. If success is measured by the love and admiration of others, he was as successful as his friend, Jimmy Pattison. As father, father-in-law, uncle, grandpa, husband and friend, Stanley was the best there was; truly “one of a kind”. We count our lucky stars that he was ours. White Rock, indeed Canada, has lost a trueheart, a genuine Philosopher. Heaven has gained the quintessential raconteur and comedian. By the time we get there, St. Peter will surely have Stanley Smith stories.