Joseph Elijah Stancil Sr. |
Joseph Stancil Sr.
Joseph Elijah Stancil Sr. was born Dec. 16, 1925, in Mason, West Virginia, and passed away June 26, 2018. He married twice – Joan Sweetland on June 22, 1946, and Marsha Marie Ward on Oct. 6, 1971.
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| Joe's children with Joan Sweetland |
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| Joseph Elijah Stancil Jr. |
| Elisa Stancil Levine |
| Edward “Ed” Sean Stancil |
| Kelly Ann Stancil |
| Buster G. Stancil |
Joe Stancil, of the Josiah Branch, son of Harry Lester Stancil and Eleanor “Laura” Christine Eyler Sayer Stancil, was born in Mason, West Virginia, on Dec. 16, 1925. His older brothers are Chuck Sayer and Harry Lester Stancil Jr. Later he had three sisters, "Betty" Elizabeth Jean, "Ellie" Eleanor Joyce, and Harriet Edwina.
Laura and Harry moved their family to Baden Avenue in San Bruno, San Mateo County, California. In 1930, Joe's dad, Harry, was a salesman for an Engineering Corporation and Laura was working as a registered nurse.
Harry loved fishing. He worked hard with friends to figure out how to rig up a seat, so they could pull themselves out to the rocks. This was quite an engineering feat.
On Nov. 11, 1935, Joe was 9. Harry, Chuck, and Anton had gone fishing while Grandpa Eyler and Joe spent the day at Rockaway Beach picnicking and fishing. Harry waved goodbye saying he expected to return by 4 p.m. At 5 p.m., Grandpa Eyler and Joe walked to the car's location. There was no sign of Harry, Chuck, or Anton.
Grandpa Eyler and Joe waited until 8 p.m., then Mr. Eyler called the Coast Guard at the Golden Gate Bridge. The Coast Guard pulled themselves out to the rocks and found three lunches, a knapsack, and a big leather coat. Grandpa Eyler recognized the coat as Harry's. But no people were there.
After many hours, the Coast Guard's search ended without the recovery of any bodies. Laura notified Josiah's NC family. Josiah put a memorial for Harry in the Stancil Cemetery in Kenly off Glendale Road.
Laura was pregnant at the time. Daughter Harriet Edwina was born Jan. 5, 1936. By summer she needed help and asked brother-in-law, Herbert, who lived in Arizona to take Harry Lester Jr. for the summer and Ralph and Ethel, who lived on a ranch, to take Joe.
Times were tough. Laura decided to move her family to Camino, CA, in northern California. She felt this was a better environment for raising her five children and there was an opportunity for using her nursing skills.
In 1940, Joe bought a 1924 Model T Roadster and he and older brother Harry Lester worked on it. A farmer offered them a Ruxtel rear-end if they dug out a full basement for him. They dug out the basement and Joe installed the Ruxtel rear end in the Model T.
Another tragedy struck when 5-year-old sister, Harriet died in a tragic accident. A neighbor, Mr. Hawkins, drove his big Lincoln car down daily to get water from the Larsen Ditch close to the house. He turned around in the yard and Harriet would ride on the running boards. She fell off the running boards, hit her head on a rock and died on October 3, 1941, almost instantly.
On July 23, 1942, Joe ran an ad in the Mountain Democrat advertising 75 Rhode Island Red pullets for sale. They were 4 months old, weighed 4 lbs. each. He charged 80 cents each.
Joe's first job paid 35 cents per hour. He picked up brush for a farmer.
While attending high school, Joe worked at the Camino Box Factory. He earned $1.40 per hour and gave all his money to his mother. She gave him 25 cents per day for his lunch which was a 10-cent hamburger and a 15-cent milkshake.
Joe Stancil in the Navy
Family photo
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Joe was a senior at El Dorado County High School when he joined the Navy on December 16, 1943. Joe was sent to the Navy School at San Diego, in January 1944. In October of 1944, Joe served aboard the USS Wayne. The skipper was T. V. Cooper, who had served in the Navy for 40 years. The USS Wayne was called a Sumter-class attack transport. It transported troops and equipment for amphibious invasions using small assault boats.
Joe's job was running landing barges in the South Pacific which unloaded landed craft and supplies on the islands. He was in four major battles: Guam, Saipan, Dutch New Guinea, a fifth was on Okinawa. The danger of battles was real. Joe's cousin, Harold Lloyd Stancil, Ralph's younger brother, died on board the USS Franklin in the Pacific, on October 13, 1944.
The USS Wayne was the first to visit Nagasaki, Japan, after the atom bomb was dropped. Joe recalled the city looking like a house whose interior had been destroyed by fire.
Joe became familiar with Asia, the South Pacific and the South China Sea. The USS Wayne went to Guadalcanal, Laite, Louisan, Holandia, Philippines and Pearl Harbor.
Joe was a mailman 3rd class. The USS Wayne visited Seattle and San Diego. Then the USS Wayne went through the Panama Canal. The USS Wayne stopped in New Orleans then went to Mobile, AL. The USS Wayne was decommissioned on 16 March 1946.
Joe finished his tour with the Navy after 2 ½ years. He used the G.I. bill to attend the Bay area trade school in mechanics. Joe completed an apprenticeship at Clarkson Buick Motors in Redwood City.
Joe met Joan Muriel Sweetland, a US veteran of WWII, who served 2 ½ years overseas. She was from South Dakota. Joan was employed by the Alexander Sanitarium in Belmont. Joan was the daughter of Frederick Lorenzo Dow Sweetland and Rose Margaret Anglin of Falk County, South Dakota. She was born in 1923 and one of 14 children.
Joan was a registered nurse and had served in the US Army. She was a First Lieutenant. Joan was with General Clark's 5th Army in Italy for 2 ½ years. Joan was an RN and was assigned to hospitals in Italy, Egypt, and Africa. Joan was also a nurse in the Navy.
A marriage license was issued to Joseph Elijah Stancil, 22, and Joan Muriel Sweetland, 23, both of Belmont, California, according to the San Mateo Times and Daily News Leader, published on June 18, 1946.
Joe and Joan had a wedding luncheon in Belmont, California. This was attended by Mrs. Eleanor Stancil of Camino, Michael Eyler, Laura's brother, San Mateo, Mrs. Harold (Jessie) Hansen, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Stancil of Belmont.
Joe and Joan married at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 22, 1946, at the Church of the Immaculate Heart, Belmont, California, by Rev. Father Meyer. Harry and Beverly were their attendants. Among those attending were Joe's mother, Laura and her brother Edward Eyler. The wedding party had dinner at the Foxx Shoppe in Redwood City, California.
Joe and Joan honeymooned at the Big Basin Redwood State Park located in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco. This is California's oldest state park, established in 1902.
They moved into the Bayview Heights home owned by friend Harold A. Hyne. This large Spanish-style home was built in 1930. In May of 1939, this was the location of a performance by the choir of the Seventh Day Adventist Church of Burlingame, CA. It's quite possible that Laura, also a Seventh Day Adventist knew the Hyne family as well as Joe. The Hynes did visit Placerville in 1939.
According to the San Mateo Times and Daily News Leader, published on July 6, 1948, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Stancil had a son born in Palo Alto, California. At this time, they lived at Box 174, Belmont, California.
Joe and Joan returned to Camino in 1948. Joe spent five years working at Ken Collins' Buick Agency. Ken was married to Joe's sister, "Betty" Elizabeth Jean.
Joe was a man of many talents. He set about building his own house in 1948. Joe was smart and could build most anything.
Gordon Blair, owner of a lumber yard, financed this house. It cost just $4,000 and Joe sold it in 1952 for $12,500. He paid off his debt, quit working for his brother-in-law and borrowed $5,000 on his mother's house. Gordon Blair loaned him $10,000 and the Mother Lode Bank loaned him $5,000.
Joe opened his auto repair business, STANCIL'S GARAGE, on August 1, 1953. Joe's slogan was, "A Small Shop with a Big Reputation." It was located at No. 1 Broadway, Placerville. Joe charged $3 per hour labor. He also began dabbling in real estate, buying and selling land.
Joe and Joan had three children. Joseph Elijah Stancil Jr. was born July 3, 1948, in Santa Clara County, California. Santa Clara is located in what is known today as Silicon Valley. It was south of San Francisco. Elisa was born March 9, 1950, and Edward Sean was born May 13, 1952, both in El Dorado County, California. Joe and Joan lived on Coloma Road, Placerville.
Harry, Joe's brother, and Harry's brother-in-law Ted Eggerling entertained at the Jeepers Jamboree held in El Dorado County. Ken, Joe's brother-in-law, was co-chairman of the entertainment. Joe's brother, Harry, sang and Ted played guitar.
In July 1955, Joe and Joan lived on Coloma Road in Placerville.
Joe was active in the community. In 1955, he was one of the ‘Can Can Girls' for the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority Fund Raiser. He was also in the Placerville Minstrel and Variety Show.
Joan was a volunteer at Girl Scout Camp in 1955, a Republican, and a member of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority.
Courtesy of Stancil Reunion Archive |
Joe opened the first Toyota Dealership in Northern California in 1959. He sold Landcruisers and Coronas. Joe was creative with his advertising and knew how to catch the right attention to boost sales. He received certificates of appreciation in 1966 and 1973. At the onset of business, Japanese merchandise was looked down upon and many chided the Stancil children, accusing them of being "made in Japan."
Joe became a Toyota Agency in 1962. By August of 1963, he was selected Dealer of the Month by Toyota.
In 1963 and 1964, Joe sold more Toyotas than any other dealer in the US. In 1965, Joe was the No. 1 Toyota salesman in the entire United States. Joe moved to a new location in 1966, 650 Main Street. Toyota honored him for having the largest Toyota Dealership in the World. Joe Jr. began working with his father.
Joe was smart and taught himself to do the rock work on his new house.
In 1971, Joe divorced Joan and married Marsha Marie Ward Strand. Marsha had two children: Kelly Ann Strand born May 12, 1963, Santa Clara County, California, and Melvin ‘Buster' Gray Strand, born Sept. 15, 1964, in Woodfords, Nevada.
Marsha grew up in El Dorado County. Her parents moved there in 1947. She received the good citizenship award when she was in seventh grade. Marsha was a member of the Drill Team, Golden Theta Rho. She enjoyed tennis and golf. She graduated from El Dorado High School in June of 1960.
Joe was a local hero. He saved the life of Gene Gilliha, who had a shop next door. Joe called the ambulance when he found Gene shot in the abdomen.
He was active in the VFW Sierra Nevada Post No. 2690. Joe was selected in 1955 as an El Dorado delegate to the Governor's Conference on Education. Joe supported local youth through purchasing the 4-H Champion Hog in 1963 and the FFA Lamb Champion in 1964. He chaired the Annual Girl Scout Campaign in 1973. Joe helped organize the Crime Stoppers Program in 1981. He donated funds for a CPR Training film used by the El Dorado District Red Cross in 1982.
Joe joined the Rotary Club in 1956. He served as president in 1967-68, when the Rotary Club started the Diamond Industrial Park. He faithfully attended their Thursday meetings.
Joe was active in the Chamber of Commerce, serving on the Industrial Committee. Membership in the Rotary Club gave Joe many opportunities to work in the community. He even got to cook pancakes for their fundraiser breakfast in 1958. Joe joined the Red Cross and donated materials for the Michigan-Cal Girl Scout Camp.
Joe was an active Republican, serving on the Republican Central Committee, offering his personal and financial support to candidates.
In 1975, Joe was selected as a trustee of the Marshall Hospital Foundation. Joe Jr. joined his father Joe as a member of the Rotary Club that same year.
In 1965, Joe was a member of the Rotary Club, VFW, American Legion, Elks Club, El Dorado Jeepherders, and Hangtown Land Cruisers for Toyota owners.
The Placerville Auto Dealers Association elected Joe, President. His brother-in-law Ken Collins, owner of the Buick Dealership, was elected vice-president. They both donated cars to the Driver's Education program. Joe gave a Plymouth and Ken gave a Dodge in 1966. Later in 1973 and 1975, Joe and Ken donated additional cars.
In 1966, when Joe learned the Rhodes Winery was closing because of highway expansion, he decided to venture into the winery business. He secured licenses and was able to save the old winery. Joe organized the El Dorado Wine Cellar and sold stock in the corporation. Looking to the future, a winery and wine tasting room were planned.
Joe supported the annual Fat Stock Show Junior Livestock Auction every year beginning in 1966, buying steers, swine, and rabbits.
In December 1966, Joe supported El Dorado Union High School Driver's Ed program, donating a Plymouth in 1966. El Dorado Union High School and CA AAA gave him certificates of appreciation in 1966 and 1973.
Stancil Motors became a Member of the Hangtown Chambers of Commerce in 1968 and the Hangtown-Auto-Show began. Also in that year, Joe completed the well-known Dale Carnegie Course and presented the best talk on human relations.
Thanks to Joe, Railroad buffs in the area enjoyed a twelve-gauge steam engine. Joe helped form the Hangtown Express, Inc., a nonprofit corporation that operated the engine in 1973. The Hangtown Express made a one-round mile trip at the Gold Bugs Mine in Bedford Park. The steam engine and coal tender was a scale model of trains from the Golden Age of Railroads 1870-1916.
Joe and wife Marsha were guests of Toyota in Hawaii. They viewed the 1974 Toyota Models with other United States dealers. Toyota invited Joe and Marsha to Japan in 1979 to view the 1980 models.
In 1981, Joe turned over the automotive business to son Joe Jr.
Joe and Marsha traveled extensively in the United States and Canada. At one time they had homes in Placerville and Mesa, Arizona.
While Buster was stationed in Australia, Marsha and Joe visited him for a month in December 1997.
Joe served on many important committees in Placerville. Among them were remodeling the courthouse, establishing the new jail, starting Crime Stoppers, Establishing Clyde Curtis Park, Lumsden Park, Diamond Industrial Park and Joe's Skate Park.
Joe's favorite saying, “The harder I work the luckier I get.” His work ethic and ability to relate to people contributed to his success as a businessman and legacy in Placerville.
Joe died at 92 on June 26, 2018, in Diamond Springs, California.
Joe was the husband of Marsha, father of Joe Jr. (Doralee), Elisa (Chuck), Edward (Helen), Kelly (Gene) and Buster, and grandfather of James (Cathy) and Randi, great-grandfather of Maeva and Margaux.