MARGARETVILLE - The village of Margaretville was in mourning last week as word spread that former mayor William “Bill” Stanton had died Tuesday, March 18, just shy of a month after his wife Maryann died on February 22. The couple, high school sweethearts married 60 years, was remembered by family, friends, neighbors and colleagues for the love and generosity they poured into the community they called home for 56 years.
Born January 12, 1944 in Oneonta, Stanton was the middle of five children whose parents struggled with alcohol during his early life. When Bill was just 15, his father died and shortly thereafter his mother was institutionalized, leaving him to raise two younger siblings by himself after his older sisters moved out. According to Jason Stanton, his dad’s life nearly went off the rails.
“He was very poor. He had a job before school and a job after school and took care of his younger brother and sister, showing them how to take care of themselves.”
Stanton enlisted in the Air Force in 1965 when he and Maryann were just 21, and was sent to Selma, Alabama, where he not only learned to be a jet engine mechanic, but started his family with the birth of son Chris.
“Selma was a tough place to be in the 1960s,” said Jason. “He had to cross the Edmund Pettus bridge twice every day to get back and forth to work and there was always something happening. He and mom saw a lot and the plight of the people really moved him and stuck with him for the rest of his life.”
After service, the Stantons returned to Oneonta. Determined to become a lineman, Stanton visited New York State Electric & Gas every Friday for six months until he was finally hired and sent to work in Fleischmanns; Stanton was finally settled. His career with NYSEG last 35 years.
Bill and Maryann - who worked as a nurse until she became a stay at home mom - had a second son, Jason, and lived in the center of the Swart Street, Margaretville neighborhood, where they later adopted four girls: Kati, Carly, Cecelia and Stephanie. Karen Hull, a 35-year neighbor remembered the Stantons as “wonderful neighbors,” whose boys played many a football game in her backyard.
“Bill loved to go to the max decorating for Halloween. One year he got a coffin for the front porch. Maryann dressed in black and sat beside it as Bill got in the coffin. When kids came on the porch he would sit up and scare them resulting in high pitched screaming and quick exits off the porch!”
Stanton threw himself into community life, becoming a Scout Master in 1976, a role he played for 20 years. Dan Laub, guided to the rank of Eagle Scout by Stanton, is today a Scout Master himself. “I guess that says something about Bill,” he noted. “Bill was one of the greatest role models I had in my youth,” said Laub. “He worked tirelessly to build a troop of great adventures and unique opportunities. He taught us how to build our strength of character, contribute to our community and overcome any number of physical and other challenges, all with his trademark smile and laugh.”
Jason Stanton, a scout in his dad’s troop, said “he thought the handbook was for people who didn’t know what they were doing or how to do it. He, on the other hand, always had a better way,” which was based on experience and on really listening to the kids. “He zeroed in on what each kid was naturally good at and helped amplify that skill. We won every single competition we ever entered,” continued Jason. “In 1984-85, we had 55 boys in scouts. He got help from other men in the community and mentored 12 young men to the rank of Eagle Scout and 25 to become Life Scouts.”
As Stanton neared retirement age, family friend Cecilia Galatioto, raising four daughters alone, struggled with cancer. Facing death, she asked the couple to take her children, keep all four together and raise them. Already grandparents, the Stantons started again as parents raising Cecilia, Carly, Stephanie and Kati who ranged in age from four to 12 when their mom passed away.
“It wasn’t easy for them, especially in those first few years,” remembered Stephanie. “They had to fight in court to keep us as they protected us, fed us, dressed us and kept us happy with everyday life.” Remembering the back yard pool, Stephanie said the Stanton’s made life as easy as possible for the girls. “I don’t ever remember going back to our house after our mom died. Nona and Papa just took us in and loved us. I remember floating in the pool one day and thinking ‘I guess this is what life is now’ and thinking it was okay.” Adding, “They were always there.” Stephanie remembered losing her way a bit as a teen and finding her way back because of the Stanton’s steady patience.
Cecilia remembers having serious trust issues, especially with men.
“Bill was so patient and kind. He never pushed me to drop my ‘walls’ and allow him into my life. At first I would only let him touch my toes. But his patience and steadiness never wavered until one day, I was finally ready to let him be my dad.”
Cecilia noted that Stantons gave the girls big brothers. “Chris and Jason were older, but they were always there, too. We were treated well because they were our brothers.”
The Stanton efforts saw all four girls go to college.
“When you look back on it now, it’s amazing,” Carly remembers. “In the beginning, Papa just held it all together on the inside for us, while everything went on around the outside. He taught me to love the outdoors. How to clean the pool, mow the lawn, work the snowblower. He taught us to drive, with incredible patience.”
Always a member of the American Legion, Stanton’s community work doubled when he became the village mayor. Trustee Iris Mead said “he welcomed me when I joined the board in 2003. He was a stand up guy, always willing to listen, always respectful.” Mead, also a neighbor on Swart Street, said he often walked up “with his beloved Westies on their leashes, to check on me or talk about local concerns. I really liked the guy.”
Local woodworker Gary Mead remembered Stanton as “a legend in our community. We are all better to have had him in our lives.”
In a Facebook post bearing a poem Mead wrote for Stanton he said, “True grit right to the end.”
