Sad news.

Mark Chisholm

Mark Chisholm

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Tom just called me and explained that Stanley Longstaff has passed away this morning. If you didn't get a chance to meet Stanley, take my word for it, you missed out on something special.

Stanley was a fun person to be around. He and I shared many great times talking tree talk and anything else. In fact, I owe my first ITCC Title to him since he spliced a rope for me on the spot so I could climb with a 200' climbing line that Robert Phillips gave me.

This message came to me as well:

[ QUOTE ]
Dear Fellow Arborist,

Many of you know our friend, Stanley Longstaff, of Ropeworks. He may have spliced some of the gear you or your crew use today.

Since being diagnosed with cancer over a year ago, Stanley has been unable to work. This past March, he came home from the hospital for hospice care. His wife, Shannon, took a leave of absence from her job as a nurse to care for him on a daily basis.

Saturday, September 8th at 7:30 PM there is a fundraiser for the Longstaff family being held in the Kennebunk Town Hall featuring recording artists Patty Larkin and Cormac McCarthy. If you like great music and wit, you will enjoy these two. Please join us for a fun evening that will “do some good.”

Advance tickets can be purchased on-line @ www.kennebunkcoffeehouse.com or myspace.com/kennebunkcoffeehouse.

Thank you,

Jeff Ott
Northeast Shade Tree


[/ QUOTE ]
 
Stanley leaves a large, painful gap.

He will be sorely missed in more than just the arb world... he contributed much in an unselfish way, we had fun moments and serious moments and there should have been more!

My thoughts go out to his family.
 

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I have a number of pieces of Stanley's workmanship.

They will have a new meaning now.
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Stanley had a few lengthy phone conversations with me when I was just learning to splice. I got to meet him at the Baltimore TCI a few years ago. I am very thankful for what he shared with me.

I wish his family the best. He helped many a tree guy get aloft safely. He will be remembered.

love
nick
 
Heartfelt condolences to Stanley's family and heartfelt thanks to Stanley for what he has done for us and our industry.
 
Does anyone have a copy of the songStanley did for the ISA? That would be really great to post here so that people who have not had the pleasure of meeting him can get a feel for his talents and what he meant to the inustry.
 
I shared many good times with Stanley since 1993, what a great person . I only met him at shows and we would spend hours into the night . If this world had more Stanley's it would be a better place . For those of you who don't know Stanley is the one who introduced us to Dr. Donzelli . Two friends , and I'm glad I met them both . Sad news indeed .
 
In 1996 the ISA Conference/ITCC was in Cleveland. At the comp I was judging Aerial Rescue and we had some time between rotations for the judges to wander around. During one of my excursions I saw a fella sitting in a folding chair along the path splicing rope. The guy cut quite a figure with his flute case sitting there and a funky board with clamps and cleats on it between his legs. Add to the whole image... a wild tossle of hair and a monster 'stache!

We chatted and I could feel a very warm, genuine person there. Over the years I had the good fortune to spend more time with Stanley. All of the times were treasures which are even more valuable now. His singing at the SSA conferences and parties at the ISA conference...Pete and Stanley or was it Stanley and Pete...seeing him mentor new splicers and share some little trick that he had learned...all of his song parodies...Get a Lock, Jack!...

A friend that is missed
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That is sad news. I had a long conversation with him over a couple of beers at Baltimore TCI in 2003 - about guitar playing. We never mentioned anything to do with tree work, which was refreshing for two committed tree guys!

He ran through a few vocals of his parodies for me which were hilarious. If you could post them Mahk I'd be really grateful. I could learn them myself to help keep them alive : )

I didn't know he had been ill. I was hoping to catch up with him at TCI this year. His memory and various talents will certainly endure in the industry - glad some are on film.

Condolences to all that were close to him. He obviously had so much to offer as an arborist/musician/rope splicer, but from what I saw in him, he was also a great human being.
 
A philosophy professor once proposed a theory to me. He theorized that a life can be said to have meaning if the positive things (the pluses) done in a life span outweigh the negatives (the minuses).

Stanley truely led a life of pluses and gave freely to all who met him.

His "meaning" was not lost on me. Thank you Stanely.

Tony
 
There will be a gathering of song and rememberance at the Longstaff/Darr home on Friday, August 24 from 5-8 pm.
Their address is:
465 Main Street, Eliot, Maine

and

Saturday, September 8th at 7:30 PM there is a fundraiser for the Longstaff family being held in the Kennebunk Town Hall featuring recording artists Patty Larkin and Cormac McCarthy. If you like great music and wit, you will enjoy these two. Please join us for a fun evening that will “do some good.”

Advance tickets can be purchased on-line @ www.kennebunkcoffeehouse.com or myspace.com/kennebunkcoffeehouse.
 
The first real "training class" in Arboriculture that I went to was run By Pete and Stanley, that was over ten years ago now.

I last saw Stanley at New England grows in Feb of this year. He did a splice for me, for free because I was a demonstrator. I had caught up to him after he packed up all his tools but he broke everything out again, did the splice while we talked about anything and everything, and wouldn't let me pay him. I think this speaks volumes for the type of guy he was.

I know he will be missed by the Arborist community, and remembered for a long time to come.
 
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