Stanton Wayne Stokes of Taylorsville, California, died on April 17, 2024, in Gridley. He was born in Greenville on Jan. 12, 1950, to Donald and Dolores Stokes. Stanton spent most of his life in Greenville, where he cultivated many life-long friendships.
Stanton was known for his hard work as a choker-setter in the logging industry. He logged in every Western state, including Alaska. Stanton played basketball in school and had a natural gift of completing math problems in his head. His athleticism and arithmetic skills benefited him tremendously in his line of work. He also worked harvesting Christmas trees and selling them at Cal Expo every year in Sacramento.
Stanton had a wicked sense of humor and didn’t suffer fools easily. His most famous saying was, “If you aren’t honest, you aren’t s&*%!” He loved the Beatles and Neil Young, and he referred to himself as an outlaw.
Stanton was known to help friends cut firewood in preparation for many winters. Evidence of this was the gigantic pile of wood on his sister’s property that he and his nephew, Clinton, stacked each year.
Stanton taught both of his kids how to fish at Round Valley Reservoir. On their first day, they caught dozens upon dozens of bluegill. Stanton spent hours running between kids bating hooks and retrieving fish to throw back into the lake.
When his children were young, you could find him and his daughter, Mindy, driving old logging roads in Indian Valley, stopping only to swim in the lake. In his later years, he enjoyed fishing with his son, Jarold, at Lake Almanor and Round Valley.
Stanton is survived by his children Mindy and Jarold; older sister Janet Garman and his brother-in-law Eddy Garman. He’s also survived by his grandchildren Soleil, Reagan, Payton, and Jackson; nephews Clinton, Todd, Garret, Jason, DC, and Rusty.
His father, mother, brother Gary and sister Candy preceded him in death.
A memorial will be held in Oroville, California, on Aug. 3, 2024, from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. at 1909 Bird Street. Food and drinks will be served.