Terry B. Stanton Died April 17, 2020

Terry B. Stanton

Died April 17, 2020

LAKE LEELANAU - Terry Bayne Stanton, 84, of Lake Leelanau, passed away Friday, April 17, 2020 at Northport Highlands.

Terry was born Nov. 7, 1935 in Milwaukee, WI, the first-born son of Earl and Gladys (VonHolt) Stanton.  On Aug. 18, 1955 in Chicago he married his high school sweetheart, Donna M. (Chinberg) Stanton, who survives. 

Terry graduated from New Trier High School in 1953 and attended college (with Donna) at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he earned a BA in Business.  Terry was very athletic in both high school and college.  At New Trier he participated in both varsity football and wrestling.  Under Terry’s leadership as captain, the New Trier wrestling team won the state title his senior year.  His success on the mat continued at Miami of Ohio where he won the Mid-American Conference Championship in 1956, while being an active & vibrant member of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity.

After Miami University, Terry became a Lieutenant of the United States Marine Corps and was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California.  Terry & Donna’s oldest child, Karen, was born at Camp Pendleton.  Following Terry’s military career, he entered the printing industry in Chicago.  He owned Darby Graphics, a highly successful printing and communications firm.  In his down time, Terry focused much of his time and attention on the cherry industry.  He was the second-generation owner of Stanton Orchards in Lake Leelanau, where his family spent their summers enjoying the beauty of the peninsula and working long hours during the July harvest.  The Orchard is still in operation much in part to Terry’s hard work and his dedication to family tradition and heritage.

Terry was a very generous individual both with his time and his finances when it came to his passions.  Wrestling was a big one.  With help from friends at Northwestern University, Terry helped to establish a youth wrestling program in Chicago called Beat the Streets which has now grown into a national organization with chapters across the country.  In recognition of his tireless support of the sport of wrestling & specifically to Beat the Streets, Terry was inducted into the National Wresting Hall of Fame in 1989. Some of Terry’s son’s fondest memories of him are the result of annual trips to attend the NCAA wrestling championships held all over the country, a tradition that continues with the next generation.  Later in life, Terry was involved with and supportive of the Nature Conservancy, The Champion Tree Archive, and the Fishtown Preservation Society in Leelanau County.

Terry was a loving father and was active in his children’s lives coaching hockey and attending Indian Princesses.  Terry was always an avid reader and as a retiree he became an accomplished painter and wood carver specializing in fish decoys and birds. Terry loved to cook, especially for his family.  He was always the master storyteller and a loyal friend to many.

Terry is survived by his loving wife of sixty-four years, Donna; four children, Karen Joy (Tom Andreoni) Stanton, Curt (Pamela Kay) Stanton, Todd Stanton, Greg Stanton; a brother, Brent Stanton; and ten grandchildren, Joanna, Peter, Jack, William, John, Rebecca, Lauren, Cooper, Henry, and Walter.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and a sister, Joy Lynne Stanton.

Private family graveside services have been held at Beechwood Cemetery, Leland. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in Terry’s honor can be made to the following:

www.ancienttreearchive.org/donate and/or www.btschicago.org/donate

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