Stan Hershell Manley, age 73, of Kimberling City, Missouri

Stan Hershell Manley, age 73, of Kimberling City, Missouri, passed away April 2, 2022, with family by his side. He entered this life on May 27, 1948, in Britton, Oklahoma, the son of Hersell and Margaret (Music) Manley.

“That the sum of a man's life was not where he wound up but in the details that brought him there”

― Jodi Picoult

There is a recognizable divide. The further southeast you travel, the beauty grows deeper, the colors are more vibrant, and the history becomes more transparent. It is in those places, with clear water lakes and rolling hills with valleys of creeks and rivers, that Stan Manley derived his sense of being, his persona. The people, places, sites, and sounds became his archetype. Peace, such that it is, existed in this small space. It was his peace of mind and defined the largest pieces of his being.

In his house, there was always the struggle to create the sense of being he felt while living out his country boy persona. It was the music that defined him. You can hear his high-pitched picking of his string instruments backed with the boom from a true bass. You can feel the speed and energy in every note. You can even see him on the perch of a wood porch attached to a log cabin producing the rhythms and the rhymes so evident in bluegrass music. As the tempo slows you can sense the controlled chaos changing to calm. You hear the soft melodic chords of Peter, Paul, and Mary. The man, complete with his well-tailored pants and an always pressed shirt, strums softly to the sounds of folk, the music that crafted a long legacy of peace with purpose. This was his being.

But life is a serious of contradictions. Without chaos, it is impossible to fully understand peace. Life requires challenge for growth. That is exactly what Stan found in Susan. He found an overwhelming love which forced a new intellectual curiosity and tested old ways of relationships. She became one of his most cherished prizes, a lady who challenged him to his core and opened his mind to new understandings and new experiences. She is the lady who challenged him to become better than the past he so loved.

The past was ever present though. Stan found it through acting. He exemplified the character variations of those times from not long ago. He lived out his dreams, first as Shaky at Silver Dollar City, then as the conductor on the Branson Scenic Railway. He later took on reenactments where he both laid down the law and skirted the law in modern day reprisals of live westerns. But this was not the entire soul of the man. Stan was also a father and grandfather.

To determine the success of a parent, one must look to the success of the offspring. In this regard, Stan stood second to none; his proudest achievement being his daughter, Jennifer. He also loved the time he had with his stepchildren: Ian and Patrick, both of whom welcomed him to the family through his marriage to Susan Barker Moore in 1994. Through his children and stepchildren, Stan found the joyful pleasure of his seven grandchildren: Carter, Trevor, Grayson, Emma, Elijah, Jaxson, and Clayton. To them, he was the grandpa who always had a quarter in his pocket, a slingshot on his porch, and acorns aplenty to shoot. He was the grandfather that just wanted their company while playing darts, working around the house, or just out for fun in the vastness of his world. It was in this world where Stan was able to display all his best characteristics, his showmanship, his thoughtfulness, and his history which is now our shared history.

There will be a tremendous void in lives of those who knew Stan, me included. There will be the memories of his crooked smile, his musings on the past as only a firsthand account will satisfy, and of watching a man destined for a bygone time while living in a modern world. But, more than anything else, we will mourn the loss of a man, a husband, a father, and a grandfather who only wanted the best for us all, who cared for our safety, our wellbeing, and our joy.

There are no formal services planned at this time. Arrangements and cremation are under the direction of Cremations of the Ozarks. To leave an online condolence, please visit www.cremationsoftheozarks.com.