July 5, 1956 – September 22, 2020
It is with great sadness that the family of Stanley Kiyoshi Yoshida announce his sudden passing on September 22, 2020.
He will be deeply missed by his mother Hatsue and brothers: Don of Virginia, niece Shena and nephew-in-law Ryan of Brooklyn, NY. Ken of Kamloops. Gary (Suzanne), niece Lyric and nephew Rohan of Whistler, BC.
Surviving Stan is his Uncle Jenji (Joanne) of Brentwood Bay, BC. Cousins Sandi and Jason of Victoria, BC and Laura of Portland, OR. Aunt Anna (Barry) of Kamloops, Uncle Tetsuo of Calgary, AB and Uncle Hidewo (Setsuko) of Winnipeg, MB and cousins Blair, Kent and Erin. Cousins of Vancouver include Rick (Diane), Abe (Pamela), Evelyn and Linda (Mike) of Kamloops BC.
Stan was predeceased by Brother Patrick 1980, Father Yoshio 2011, Uncle Fiko 2019, Aunt Setsuko 2009 (Yataro 2010), Aunt Jean 2004, Aunt Midori 2005, Uncle Suyeki 2017 (Lorna 2018) and Aunt Haruka 1998 (Mitsuo 1996).
Stan was a talented sound engineer who made his reputation in the music industry in the 1970s starting with a Vancouver-based band named Weather. He subsequently toured with many successful artists including Supertramp, the Pointer Sisters, U2 and The Rolling Stones. His engineering work earned him platinum and gold records. While living in Vancouver, Stan worked with production company Kelly Deyong Sound and was the in-house sound engineer at venues including The Commodore Ballroom and Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Later on, Stan’s extensive knowledge and calm demeanor landed him a role as the Technical Director at Vancouver’s Columbia Academy of Recording Arts.
In addition to music, Stan’s other passion was photography. He took many images of the bands he worked as well as of his own family. In 2015, he left Vancouver and returned to Kamloops, where he became the dedicated caregiver of his mother, Hatsue. He loved reaching out to his nieces and nephew and would never miss a birthday or holiday, sending cards along with news to brighten the day.
We are deeply saddened by our loss.
The Funeral for Stanley is scheduled for Sunday, October 18th at 11:00am at Kamloops Funeral Home, 285 Fortune Drive, Kamloops BC. For attendance please RVSP with Kamloops Funeral Home (250) 554-2577.
In lieu of flowers please donate to The Heart and Stroke Foundation at https://www.heartandstroke.ca/
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12 Tributes
My deepest condolences to Stan’s family aand friends. Too talented and too young to be gone too soon.
Rock on MegaBud! We’re deeply saddened by the news. Listening to Alan Parsons and Supertramp, and raising a glass of B&B to the legend. Honoured to have been a small part of your life.
Tim & Louise Brecht
A caring and gentle man who appreciated a good laugh with friends and family. A teacher and mentor in many things, technical and otherwise. My first sashimi with chopsticks was eaten in his Mom’s kitchen. So many good memories. He will be greatly missed.
I met Stan at UBC in 1974 where he was mixing Pat Benatar. He worked at My shop after the Closure of Columbia Academy. Many of My staff went there and all of them admired Stan as a good teacher and brilliant technician. He repaired electronics for Me for many years. I will miss his intelligence and sense of humour. Stan was a kind and gentle person. We will all miss him.
Stan and his family lived across the alley from us in North Kamloops. We hung out when were teenagers. I remember many hours in the shed out back, recording music and having fun. I haven’t seen Stan in a long while, but he still holds a warm place in my heart. RIP old friend.
My sincere condolences to all of Stan’s family and friends in your time of sorrow.
Condolences to the family and friends of Stan. I had a chance to work with Stan back around the year 2001. My wife and I had our first baby that year and it was also the year of a brutally long transit strike in Vancouver. I remember this because my wife and daughter would pick me up at Columbia Academy where we both worked at the time. We offered Stan a ride home when the transit strike affected his commute and he happily accepted and sat beside our baby daughter. The next day we again offered Stan a lift and he graciously accepted. This time as he got buckled in again beside our car seated daughter he asked if it was okay to give our daughter a gift. So Stan reaches into his briefcase(you know the one) and brought out a little stuffed bunny doll. Pretty sweet move. Pretty sweet guy. We were lucky to have Stan with us for the rest of the transit strike which at the time seemed long but now feels like the blink of an eye. I will always remember him as a kind, generous and sharing man. Some Friday’s after classes we might even slip into his office for a cold one and a few laughs … it was an honour to know him.
So sorry for your families loss. Remembering the days at Norbroc Husky with the brothers. Thinking of you, the Sawada families
Stan was the most loyal and caring human being on the face of the earth – and no better friend could there be. His sense of humour and quirky look on life always kept a smile on all of our faces. He also continuously showed all of us up by wearing a suit everyday, regardless of whether he was negotiating a $500K deal with Sony or climbing under a console to solder a broken connector. We always joked that maybe Stan led a double life, on the surface he was mild manner, quiet and thoughtful – toiling away in this shop fixing stuff until late at night. But once he locked the door and pushed the ‘special’ button, the wall spun around and he became a high tech government op working in his ‘other’ workshop that was so futuristic it made James Bond’s ‘Q’s’ look like kindergarten classroom. My Covid clean up in March unearthed many pictures of ‘our gang’ from the 70’s, 80’s & 90’s all with that unique metadata (his personal coding system written on the back with a Sharpie). Thankfully, I have those memories. He was brilliant man who loved music and everything that went into making it. That created a bond with so many of us creative and technical people over the years and we will all miss him. My sincerest condolences to the family and I genuinely regret not staying more in touch with him over the last few years. I’m sure Stan would say “it’s OK”, but I do want him to know that we will make it a reminder for all of us; that life is fleeting and we must keep then ones we love close…RIP Stan –
In one of my first band’s here in Kamloops, Presence, Stan was our sound man. I remember all the cool and cutting edge gadgets that he brought to the gigs we did at the local high schools. Unfortunately the schools circuits could not handle the pile of equipment we used in those days and the power would go out. Being the drummer that was my cue to perform a solo. At one gig this happened four times. I well remember Stan rushing from the board and getting to the circuit panel then retuning to the mixer. Stan had a talk back in the monitor system back in those days that was cutting edge and I remember the comment ” saved by the drummer, yet again”. I ran in to Stan on the road years later when he was with Weather and we had a laugh about those days. He was a great sound man and technical wizard but above all he was a great person. You can bet that heavens sound man has recently been let go and Stan is behind the board now.
Remembering Stan in the Weather days. Blessed to have known a kind, patient man who was dedicated to his love of sound and photography. Fixing someone’s electronic problem dropped off in the middle of the night and needed for a gig the next day. Stan always got the job done. Prayers to family.
I didn’t find out about his passing until recently. I met Stan in 1980 shortly after moving from St Catharines Ont. He, joey Mah and I shared a house in New West for a while. I sat in for StanN doing FOH mix for Weather, when his brother died. We laughed a lot. We sort of lost contact in the early 2000’s. I regret that. A very great guy. I recall the first time we met, he helped me dissassemble about 5 guitar amps that I was fixing for Roy Orbison- playing that night at the Cave. RIP my friend.