Stanley Liang passed away last week in Arizona. The world lost a unique soul, and I lost a man who had more of an impact on my life than I probably know.

Growing up, I had heard about the Liang family but never knew them. From time to time, they’d come up in conversation as my Dad would tell me a story from his youth. Perhaps it was the one about driving the lawnmower over the bank at the Motel or a handful of other stories.

It wasn’t until I met Stan’s daughter in High School and fell in love with her that I truly got to know the man.

Stan was a smart ass. The more he loved you, the harder time you got it from him. If you couldn’t recognize this as affection, you were doomed to ever understand him. It didn’t matter if you were a friend, a waitress, or an employee; he liked to bust balls as much as anyone I know.

I’ll be honest that sometimes it bugged the crap out of me. Of course, I’d swallow my thoughts and roll with it.

Only once did I raise my voice to him, and that was when Laura was pregnant, and the whole family was together for breakfast at a restaurant. We still talk about that one time when I snapped and demanded he “pass the god damn syrup” and how there was a shared moment of mutual respect as he handed it to his daughter. You can’t be mad when someone defends your only daughter like that.

Stan had a deep effect on an infinite number of lives. As a dedicated Mason, Shriner, and Boy Scout, he worked to improve the world around him.

He was the child of a Chinese immigrant and saw first hand how hard his family had to work for everything they wanted. It was always apparent to me how much this had shaped his life and how he lived it.

To know Stan was to know that he’d help you in any way he could. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to help someone in need. He was always ready to help and show love to other people.

Food was one of Stan’s love languages, and anyone who has shared a meal with him has fond memories of it. I’m blessed to have a recipe book from him full of special family recipes that I will always cherish.

Over the years, he and the family would make thousands of meatballs and deliver them hot and delicious to healthcare workers on the job during the holidays. He and Linda still use to make plates of meals and deliver them to local firehouses so that the gang would have a warm meal that they didn’t have to make.

His larger than life personality flowed through everything he did. Anyone who attended one of his world-famous Beef & Beer parties knows what I’m talking about. Once you received an invitation, you were invited for life. Once you tasted his secret spice mix on that slow-roasted meat, you’d never be the same again.

If you were to ask me, I only have one regret in my life, and it involves Stan.

Due to how things happened with my wedding proposal, I never asked Stan for his blessing ahead of time. But, I’ll eternally be thankful for him sharing his amazing daughter with me.

The fact that he passed away two days short of celebrating 55 years of marriage to his beautiful wife was one of the first things I thought of when we heard the news. I’m thankful we were all able to be there to celebrate their 50th.

Stan was a quiet grandfather, but he was a loving one. He is the closest person to my kids, who has passed and they are still trying to process it. Their lives are better because he was in it.

It boggles my brain that Stan was buddies with my Grandfather. A man that was taken from this world far too early. Then to have him be my father’s first employer and Boy Scout leader adds to the legend of strangeness.

How crazy is it that both my father and my father-in-law graduated from the same college? Two different degrees and a decade apart, but crazy right?

I last talked to Stan a few weeks back. He liked to call out of the blue and ask a question. Sometimes it was about the cold weather he wasn’t missing, a random technology question, or in this case, as soon as I said hello, I heard him laugh and ask, “So what do you think of your air fryer?”

I’m going to miss those moments when I saw his name pop up on my phone and wonder what kind of funny thing he was going to ask this time.

I’ll also miss how much he spoiled our dogs. I’ve always been told that after his last dog passed away decades ago, it hurt him so much that he decided never to own another dog. Our girls loved him, and every time he saw them, he had a biscuit (or four) ready for them.

Stanley Liang graced our world for 76 years and I know that he lived all of them to the fullest. He was a gentleman from a bygone era and the sort of man we need more of in our world. I am going to miss him.

Rest in Peace Stan. I promise to take care of Linda and Laura.