Stan died August 5, 1949, along with 11 other Missoula smokejumpers in the Mann Gulch Fire. He attended Holy Cross College in Massachusetts on a football scholarship for one year prior to enlisting in the Army Air Corps in WWII. He held the rank of 2nd lieutenant and received the Purple Heart while serving in the Pacific. After the war he resumed his education as a forestry student at the Univ. of Minnesota where he planned to graduate in 1950. Prior to leaving for Missoula with his good friend Joe Silva, Stan had completed his ROTC training and was promoted to 2nd lieutenant.