Winifred Louise Houston Stanley Dec. 1, 1914 ~ May 18, 2010

Longtime Lafayette Resident Winnie Stanley died peacefully at home on Tuesday, May 18th. She was 95 years old. Winnie graduated from Oakland High School in 1932. She briefly attended the University of California at Berkeley, before leaving to work for the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco.

In 1937, she married her high school sweetheart, Lynne Stanley, and was forced to resign from the bank as its practice was not to employ married women! She went to work for Matson Navigation - a job she dearly loved - and in 1945, she and Lynne moved from Oakland to the "hinterlands" of Lafayette where they built a home where they would both live out their days.

Winnie and Lynne loved to entertain and their homes were always open to friends, relatives and any animals in need. Their menagerie grew as the years went by, but no one was ever turned away. Winnie was an active volunteer for an number of organizations, and a loving mother, mother-in-law, aunt, great-aunt, grandmother, neighbor and friend. She will be dearly missed.

Winnie is survived by her son Bud (Lynne III) and daughter-in-law Janis (Peterson) Stanley of Santa Rosa; grandsons Jeff and Scott Stanley; daughter Laurel Stanley and son-in-law Michael Beritzhoff of Lafayette; as well as her dog Bingo and grand-dogs Sam, Lily, CJ and Duffy.

A private service will be held. Should anyone wish to make a donation in Winnie's memory, please consider the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society Fire Relief Fund, Friends of Animal Services at the Antioch Animal Shelter, or Lily's Legacy - Senior Dog Sanctuary.