Michael Chauncey Stanley

Michael C. “Mike” or “Mickey” Stanley, died peacefully on August 1, 2024, in his home on Dublin Lake in New Hampshire, surrounded by family.

Mike remained exuberantly engaged in life until his final days, reciting his poetry and singing with his many friends who visited. During this time, a shimmering of hummingbirds always seemed to be outside his window. 

Mike adored being in nature, whether paddling on a river, sailing, hiking, or, in later years, sitting on the deck of his New Hampshire cottage, listening to loon calls. He drew those in his orbit into quiet conversations about what he considered important: family, good friends, the environment, and the healing qualities of the natural world. Mike cherished his loved ones and lived his life with passion, respect, gratitude, and a healthy dose of mischief. His playful spirit and unique way of finding humor in situations is what his friends and family will remember most. 

Mike was born in Glen Cove Long Island on August 15, 1932, to Margaret Schniewind and Julian Carr Stanley. His was a large, traditional and loving family. His two brothers were Julian C. Stanley II (his childhood best friend) and Peter Schniewind Stanley. His mother taught him to ice skate and he spent many hours figure skating and playing hockey on Beaver Dam, Long Island. He was an all-star hockey and track star at Hotchkiss School and attended Yale University, graduating in 1954, where he captained the Yale Track team. At Yale, he was a champion mid-distance college runner, besting in a collegiate race in New York City a competitor who, just two years later, claimed Gold at the Olympics.

In 1961 he married Georgie Wilmerding (d. 2003) and had three children, Bredt (Ketchum, ID); Georgie (Jackson, WY); and Benjamin (Laurie, Bozeman, MT). Living in Far Hills, New Jersey, he and Georgie created The Stanley Family Fund to focus on community, land and river conservation. Later, as a family, they gave generously to the arts, the environment, outdoor education and just as often to people or institutions that resonated with their aims.

Mike was a world-class kayaker and pioneer of the sport. He served his country in the Air Force Reserves and was discharged as a Captain. His first career was on Wall Street. At 55, disenchanted with that world, Mike left to become an Outward Bound Instructor. He happily worked for $80 a day, paddling canoes and hiking at Hurricane Island Outward Bound School (HIOBS), Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School and Philadelphia Outward Bound School (POBS). He served as a long-time member on the boards of HIOBS and POBS, as well as on the national advisory board for Outward Bound USA. 

 In 2017, in recognition of his service to Outward Bound, Mike was honored with the inaugural Outward Bound USA Service Award. In 2023, he was given the Distinguished Service Oar Award from Hurricane Island Outward Bound School for “enriching and energizing the school,” and, more significantly, for embodying the philosophy of Outward Bound, “to serve, to strive and not to yield.”

 In 2003, Mike founded the Outward Bound New Jersey Youth Leadership Corps. The group awarded merit scholarships to 24 New Jersey highschoolers each summer to paddle the Delaware River and to hike the Appalachian Trail. Over two decades Mike introduced more than 400 kids to the leadership training of Outward Bound, thanks to the scholarship program he supported. 

 He felt that his days on Outward Bound courses with students and in Outward Board meetings were among his happiest and most fulfilling. One of his favorite sayings was, “go out on a limb, that’s where the fruit is.” 

 In 2006, he married Sue Scott and lived with Sue and his stepson Chase Squier in New York City and New Hampshire. In New York, Sue introduced Mike to the contemporary art world and together they enjoyed the cultural riches of the city. They traveled widely, enjoying sailing trips in Maine and the Caribbean but more often could be seen sailing on Dublin Lake in their catboat “Stella’s Ear.” Mike and Sue supported progressive causes that focused on the freedoms in jeopardy in this country. 

In New Hampshire, Mike became involved with the Cornucopia Project in Peterborough, a small initiative to teach children to grow and appreciate healthful foods. He served as a member of the Board of Directions, an advisor, and a benefactor. 

Mike was an accomplished poet, publishing three chapbooks over the past thirty years, Driftwood, This Trip I’m On, and Out on a Limb. An admirer of the poetry of Robert Frost, Robert Kipp Miller and Tony Hoagland, Mike’s own style was wry, often tender, celebrations of life and the natural world. He rarely showed up to any type of gathering without a poem to share. He was the greatest yodeler and taught his children to yodel at an early age. He danced in a unique style and all night long. Another of Mike’s sayings was, “what you send out comes back.” In other words, believed Michael Chauncey Stanley, life is a boomerang.

In addition to his wife, stepson and children, Mike is survived by three grandchildren: Georgie and Beo Charette (Jackson, WY) and Rowen Stanley (Bozeman, MT).

A celebration of Mike’s Life will be held in August 2025 at Dublin Lake, New Hampshire.

Mike Stanley’s Boomerang, an endowment fund for the Cornucopia Project in Peterborough, has been established in his honor. 

https://secure.givelively.org/donate/cornucopia-project/mike-stanley-s-boomerang