Stanley Owen Hollister, 84, passed away on September 1, 2012 in Santa Barbara, CA. Stanley was born in 1928 in Lompoc, CA, the only child of the marriage of Owen E. and Ida Mae Hollister. He was raised in Santa Barbara County on the family ranch and dairy, attended Santa Ynez schools and graduated from Lompoc High School in 1946.

After graduation, Stan continued working on the family ranch until he began farming on his own. As a farmer, he farmed beans and flower seed, and loved growing crops. During this time, he was introduced to Elizabeth K. "Lita" Sudden and fell in love. When she went away to attend school in the Midwest, he made a trip across the US to visit her and convinced her to marry him. She returned home to Lompoc and they married in 1955. Their first two boys, Jerald "Jerry" and Steven, were born shortly thereafter in Lompoc. After tough times in farming, they moved to Medford, OR for a year as Stanley worked driving truck in the logging industry. They moved back to the Central Coast and settled in Paso Robles to be close to Lita's family. Stan worked as a hired hand in farming at this time. Their third boy, David, was born in Paso Robles. After his birth, they moved back to Lompoc in 1962 where Stan took a job with the Santa Barbara County Flood Control, where he would work until his retirement in 1990. It was at this time that he bought a ranch with his brother-in-law, Billy Sudden, and started S & H Cattle Co., a cow-calf operation raising Angus cattle.

His life was changed forever when his oldest son, Jerald, was killed in a car accident in 1978 at the age of 22. Stan and Lita struggled with this loss until Lita died of cancer in 1990 at 54. After this loss, Stan was blessed with love for the second time in his life when he reconnected with his high school sweetheart, Kathryn "Todd" Mundell Werst. They were married in 1992 and have been happily married until Stan's death.

Stan loved to farm and travel. His love for the great outdoors was surpassed only by his love for his family. His family will always remember his vegetable gardens, which were second to none.

He was a simple, honest man of few words.

He is survived by Kathryn; sons Steven (Lori) and David (Connie); stepchildren Rich, Vanessa and Jeff Werst; and grandchildren Ashley, Dustin, Colton, Katie, Nick and Sean; step grandchildren Ron, Michael, Brian and numerous others. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Lita; son, Jerald; half-brothers Jim Hollister, and Lloyd, Percy, Eldon, Frank, and Mervyn Davidson, and half-sister Pearl Davidson.; and parents Owen E. and Ida Mae.

The graveside funeral service will be on Saturday, September 8, 2012, at 10 am in the Lompoc Evergreen Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Lompoc Historical Society.