Stanley Ceremony Obituary

Stanley Dean Ceremony
December 17, 1934 - September 16, 2024
Stanley Dean Ceremony, 89, peacefully returned to God on September 16, 2024, with many of his children and grandchildren by his side. Born in Oakland, CA on December 17, 1934 to parents Charles Ceremony (Italian) and Kathleen E. Driscoll Ceremony (Irish), where he was raised Catholic along with his 14 fourteen brothers and sisters.

His early years were spent living between Berkeley and Richmond, CA were he had a paper route, served as an altar boy and attended his early years of school at Saint Joseph's Catholic School and graduated from Richmond Union High School in 1954. He met his future wife, Geraldine "Gerry" Rosemary Silva, in the neighborhood as she waited for the bus to attend Presentation High School in Berkeley, CA. After his graduation he got a job at Chevron in Richmond, CA, working on the tanker ships that regularly sailed to Alaska. After a few years of courting Gerry, they were engaged to be married. In 1956, he joined the Army and was based in Germany serving for 2 years until 1958. He learned that he enjoyed his job in the Army working as an electronics specialist (radios and communication devices). Upon his return from Germany, he married Gerry on May 10, 1958 and settled into their life together in Richmond and soon began building their own family. They loved God's gift of children and soon had a family of seven children (5 boys and 2 girls). For his work, he continued his passion for electronics eventually transferring into Chevron Research as an Electronic Engineer.

Bursting at the seams of their small Richmond house, they acted on their dream to have a larger house and space for the kids to run around outside. They moved to Sonoma, CA in 1970 to build a home to accommodate their growing family. He commuted to work during the week and came home to work on the house in the evenings and all his weekends until the family home was completed.

He was an independent do-it-yourself working man, always looking for ways to support his family and continuing to learn new things. In addition to helping to build the family's house in Sonoma, he worked regularly to continuously improve the property and fix the family cars. He enjoyed keeping busy working on projects to help the family. He loved the outdoors and regularly took family vacations camping throughout California.

In 1997, he retired from Chevron Research after 43 years of service. He had the opportunity to go on a tour of the Northwest as far reaching as Alaska with his wife in a truck and trailer enjoying some time as a couple after the busy years of raising a family of seven. And after these trips slowed down over the years, you would find him in the yard or his workshop busy on some project to improve something around the property while his wife, ultimately, of 61 years was tending the flowers in the garden.

Stan is survived by his children Mary Dietrich (Byron), Brian Ceremony, Stephen Ceremony (Victoria), Jeffry Ceremony (Jessica), Teresa Vassallo (Paul), Duane Ceremony (Mikki), and Glen Ceremony (Debra) and predeceased by his beloved wife Geraldine "Gerry" Rosemary (Silva) Ceremony and daughter Amy Michelle Ceremony. He was also a Papa to, and survived by, 17 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

We will truly miss the foundational love he shared as a husband, father and Papa. He taught by setting an example and loved through his actions. He was a loyal employee, faithful husband, unwavering supportive father, proud Papa, and simply a good humble man. His Catholic faith was a constant in his life from his early years as an altar boy to his last days, through thick and thin.

His immediate family will be honoring and praying for him during private services as he wished. In lieu of flowers, Stan's request was that on his behalf, to remember to treat all you come in contact with as you would like them to treat you.