Willie Franklin Stanley
October 23, 1932 – February 1, 2015

Willie Franklin (Frank) Stanley, TSgt., USAF Retired, 82, of rural Lancaster, Missouri passed away on February 1, 2015.

Born October 23, 1932 to Boyd W. Stanley and Roberta (Arbogast) Stanley in Howard County, Missouri. He was preceded in death by both of his parents and his only sibling, Pansy June (Heins) Stanley. He graduated from Glasgow High School in 1950, enlisted in the United States Air Force from which he retired after 22 years of service.

While in the Air Force, Frank had a stellar career. He served during the Korean War and the Vietnam Conflict, was assigned to an Air Sea Rescue Unit in Japan but the accomplishment that his family is most proud of is he was the lead Flight Engineer for Air Force One, the Presidential Squadron, through the terms of President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson. While on the Presidential Squadron, he escorted the Apollo 11 (moon landing) astronauts, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, on a goodwill mission of all of the capitol cities in South America, plus many other dignitaries too numerous to mention.

In 1964 Frank and Carolyn (Smith) Stanley were married in Prince George County, Maryland. To this marriage one child, Sherry Lynn Stanley was born.

After spending three and a half years in Japan, Frank retired from the Air Force and the family moved to a farm in Schuyler County, Missouri, where he has lived the remainder of his life.

A memorial service with military rites will be held at the Norman Funeral Home in Lancaster, Missouri at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, February 6, 2015. A graveside service will be held at Rose Hill Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers the family has requested donations to the Schuyler County Rotary Club for their scholarship fund.