Stanley Omdal
December 14, 1920 – March 14, 2006
On March 14, 2006, passed a true officer and a gentleman, a scholar, an athlete, an educator, a staunch and proven patriot, a liberator of the oppressed, a champion of the downtrodden, and a devoted husband and father.
Born in Bow, Washington to parents Selma and Bovitz Omdal, Stanley attended grade school in the old Field Grade School in the 1920’s and 1930’s. He graduated in 1939 from Burlington High School after an outstanding academic and athletic career and enrolled in Washington State College University, majoring in agriculture and education with a goal of becoming a teacher. Following his patriotic nature, Stanley also enrolled in the ROTC. Not from a wealthy family, Stanley funded his education with a combination of scholarships and hard work.
Before he could complete his education, World War II called, and Stanley answered by enlisting in the army, receiving his basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, followed by officers’ training specializing in armor. He received his commission as a second lieutenant and was assigned to the 8th Armored Division as a tank commander.
Stanley was assigned to the European Theater where he saw intense and prolonged combat with the German army, including the Battle of the Bulge. It was here where Stanley’s tank was disabled by German 88 millimeter guns, and Stanley distinguished himself by rescuing his wounded driver from the blazing tank and assisting the remainder of his and other tank crews to safety. For his bravery and heroism, Stanley was awarded the Bronze star, a distinction of which he was very proud. Stan was also immensely proud that his tank was selected to be the first to cross the Rhine River into Germany at his geographical point in the war.
Through his bravery and leadership skills, Stanley became acquainted and personal friends with General George Patton, a man whom Stanley admired greatly and talked about frequently in his later years. This relationship was to prove advantageous to Stanley and a number of others, including some innocent German citizens after the war.
Stanley remained in Germany when the war ended and served in a number of roles in the military government. His official assignment was Food and Agriculture Officer in Augsberg, but he also served as a military judge, hearing cases of all nature, both civilian and military. It was in this capacity that Stanley was able to free a number of innocent German citizens who had been mistakenly imprisoned as Nazis or as Nazi sympathizers. Included was a civilian who had once had Stanley’s job both pre-war and during the war. Stanley convinced General Patton that he could do a much better job in his current assignment if he had this man, currently imprisoned, as his assistant. General Patton agreed and had the man released and returned to his family.
Stanley stayed in the U.S. Army Reserve after he returned from Germany in September of 1946 and completed his education. In 1948, Stan took a position as an agriculture teacher at Sedro-Woolley High School. But, he was again called to serve his country in January, 1951, as a result of the Korean Police Action. Stationed initially at Fort Ord, California, Stan was promoted to Captain and assigned as Operations Officer of the Commons Specialist School. He was sent to Korea and assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division as a Combat Intelligence Officer in the G-2 Section intelligence of his division.
Stan loved his country and the precepts upon which it was founded, and he was exceptionally proud of his military service. Those who asked Stan to ‘tell us a war story,’ needed to be very certain they had nothing pressing to do for the next several hours.
Upon his release from the army, Stanley returned to teaching agriculture at Sedro-Woolley High School, becoming the vocational director in 1969, and in 1972, he received his Masters Degree in Education. Stanley finished his career in education when he retired in 1979. Stanley enjoyed attending all FFA livestock judging contests and fairs throughout NW Washington and always supported his students with any FFA project big or small. He is remembered to this day as a fair and demanding educator who believed that all students could learn, although he frequently had to convince them.
Prior to Stanley’s assignment to his initial tour of duty in Europe, he attended a dance in New York City and met a dark-eyed beauty who caught his eye and captured his heart, Maria Nancy Dell’Orto. Stan and Maria carried on their relationship through the mail throughout Stan’s tour of duty in Europe, and when he returned to the U.S., they were married in Brooklyn, New York on October 30, 1946. Stan and Maria eventually made their home and their lives in Sedro-Woolley, producing and raising two beautiful daughters, Nancy Mimi and Cynthia Marie.
Stan’s hobbies included golf, landscaping, sports, and community service. In 1996, he received the Contributor’s Award for High School Wrestling and was inducted into the Washington State Wrestling Hall of Fame. In 1998, he was recognized as one of the all-time 100 Outstanding Citizens of Sedro-Woolley. He received the Exceptional Service Award from the Skagit Golf and Country Club in the year 2000. In 2001, Stan was also awarded the Robert Jones Fellowship Award of Service on behalf of his tireless efforts with the Sedro-Woolley Lion’s Club.
As Stan’s life readily depicts, he was a man who believed in the equality upon which our nation was founded and is based, and he did not tolerate oppression or hesitate to extend his hand to those who needed his support.
Stan was preceded in death by his parents, beloved wife Maria, his oldest daughter, Nancy Omdal Moller, and his brothers, Kenneth Omdal and Leonard Omdal.
He is survived by his daughter, Cynthia Omdal Brune and her husband Dennis Brune; son-in-law, Les Moller and his fiancee, Dorothy Bobillot; two grandchildren, Alison Moller Wright and her husband, Mason, and Adam Moller, and his fiancee, Danielle Cecotti; two brothers, Gordon Omdal and Boyd Omdal; and two sisters, Sharon Maasdam and Blanche Walbaum and numerous extended family members in and out of Skagit Valley.
The family requests that memorials be sent to the Nancy Omdal Moller Memorial Scholarship Fund in care of Bay View Elementary School PTA, 1323 Wilson Road, Burlington, WA 98233 or the Sedro-Woolley Schools Foundation, 801 Trail Road, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284, or the Sedro-Woolley Lion’s Club, % Gus Suryan 635 Jennings, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284.
The family wishes to thank the wonderful staff at The Clayton House in Sedro-Woolley for their exceptional care of Stanley during his struggle with Parkinson’s Disease.
Funeral Services will be Friday, March 24, 2006 at Noon 12:00 PM at the Edison Lutheran Church with Pastor Larry Olsen of the Edison Lutheran Church officiating with interment to follow at the Bow Cemetery with military honors provided by George Baldridge Post #31 American Legion of Sedro-Woolley. Visitation will be Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at Lemley Chapel, Sedro-Woolley.
