Timothy Neil Stanton

Celebrating the life of Timothy Stanton – October 24, 1943 to December 24, 2020

Timothy Stanton of San Diego, CA passed away of sudden and unexpected heart failure on December 24, 2020. He was surrounded by his loving family that evening.
Tim Stanton was born on Oct 24, 1943 of Edith and Timothy Stanton in Taunton England. He was one of 4 children surrounded by girls, Josephine, Patricia and Edith growing up in Southern CA since the age of 2. He met his wife and one true love, Lenore (Brown) at Harbor College and was married on August 21, 1965. Tim and Lenore have 3 children: Rosemarie, Tim and wife Sarah; and Monica and husband Ed Torres. He has 3 grandchildren: Julia & Trent Torres and Garrett Nering.
Many folks may not know Tim’s humble beginnings. Tim came from a working class family. He helped out his parents and sisters even at a very young age. He had a newspaper route, riding his bike around San Pedro before he was 10 years old at the wee hours of the morning. As he became a teenager, he would even sell flowers and newspapers in local establishments to make money in order to financially assist his family. At a young age, he was an exceptional young man who knew that he wanted to achieve more and make a better life for himself and others.
Tim graduated from UCLA with a Bachelors of Science in Civil/Structural Engineering in 1966 and Masters of Science in Civil Engineering from CSULA in 1968. He started his career at the City of Los Angeles working as a Civil Engineer. He was a dedicated and hard worker. He was interested in going the extra mile and taking on tasks that others didn’t want. With his perseverance and constant striving for excellence, he was sought out to be the Civil Engineering Manager at Tucson Gas and Electric. He was one of the youngest managers. Due to his dedication and hard work, he was then offered a position at Salt River Project in Phoenix, Arizona to manage a larger department where he became the Director of Civil Engineering. He worked diligently at SRP to ensure safety and consistency of the engineering practices. One of his most proud achievements was leading the Roosevelt Dam Study and creating a plan to improve the safety of the world’s largest stone/rubble and mortar arch dam with a $430M improvement that among other things fortified the dam with concrete and ensured it would remain standing during a major earthquake.
He continued his career as District Engineer at Otay Water District in San Diego County reorganizing their water department and making improvements to their engineering systems and procedures. Due to some changes at Otay, he made the career move to become the Deputy Director of Public Works for Land Development, Sewer and Flood Control at the County of San Diego. Tim always strived to correct inequities and improve processes. Due to his go getter qualities and demand for improvements, he sometimes faced large roadblocks with folks not pursuing the same quality of excellence. Due to roadblocks, Tim chose to take the position of District Engineer at Ramona Municipal Water District. He created, developed and implemented a long term plan ensuring that Ramona had enough water to support the town and surrounding area. He worked diligently with the board being an advocate for his employees and working tirelessly to get them the fair pay they deserved. Due to his in-depth knowledge of the system, the General Manager often called on him to explain intricacies of the water system and present comprehensive proposals to the board. Because of his detailed knowledge and expertise, he was the manager interviewed by the news during a critical fire outbreak in Ramona in October 2007.
Tim was a lifetime member of ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers). He loved his career as a Civil/Structural design engineer and then Engineering Manager/Director/District Engineer. He had his Professional Engineering License in three states: CA, AZ and NM. He also took and passed the State Board Examination to become a Professional Land Surveyor. He continued throughout his career to strive for excellence. He took additional technical as well as quality and management classes throughout his career. He was awarded the ASCE lifetime membership status in 2008. In 2010, he received the ASCE Outstanding Civil Engineer Award. He was elected Board Member of the San Diego County Rural Fire Protection District. He volunteered for United Way and was chosen as the Keel Club Captain. He was a constant giver of his time and talents and his knowledge and persistence was highly valued by so many.
The San Diego Regional Standards Committee is another group that Tim volunteered for. He volunteered for many years and was elected as the Chairperson by his peers. Their mission is to contribute to cost effective government (an objective close to Tim’s heart) by eliminating duplication of effort. They created standard engineering and construction drawings and specifications that could be and are currently used by public agencies and construction contractors everyday in San Diego County. Tim’s son, also a Civil Engineer, sees his Dad’s name and signature (the one with the big loop from the “n” that goes up and around to cross both “t’s” in “Stanton”) almost daily at work since many of the standard drawings used in construction were created and signed by Tim over the years. Some people have even asked Tim Jr., “Hey, is this your signature on this drawing?” Tim Jr. replies, “Nope that’s my Dad.”
Tim was a dedicated, devoted husband, father, grandfather, and Roman Catholic. He was a trusted advisor to all his family and friends on a variety of subjects from how to fix a washing machine or car to picking the best investments in the stock market as well as how to deal with difficult employees or bosses. His family and friends would actively seek out his advice as he always gave his honest opinion. He was a man full of faith and strong values. He sought to right the wrong and help others when in need. He was the rock, foundation and protector of his family.
Tim was a Eucharistic Minister and a teacher of Faith Formation at Our Lady of Grace Church. He was sought out to teach the older kids due to his gentle but strict adherence to the rules. He was active at the El Cajon Elks Lodge serving in various positions including being a Trustee. He and Lenore loved to take cruises to various places around the world: Europe, China, South America, Australia, Alaska and Hawaii. They were avid ballroom dancers on the cruises and at the Wednesday night Elks dances. Tim and Lenore were always complimented on how synchronously and beautifully they danced together.
Tim loved to spend time with his family. Tim and Lenore moved in early 2020 from Jamul to San Diego to be closer to their children and grandchildren who all live within a few miles. He loved to help his children and grandchildren with projects from house fixes and stock investing for the children to helping the grandchildren learn to tie their shoes, practicing reading and doing complicated math homework.
We believe that as long as we remember a person, they’re not really gone. Their thoughts, their feelings, their memories, they become a permanent part of us forever. Tim will be so greatly missed as he leaves us to join the Lord in Heaven. We believe that he is watching over us from Heaven – guiding us and leading us with his strong sense of values and purposely doing the right thing. He is forever loved and will be in our hearts and minds always.