Stanley Schlosser was born Oct. 8, 1932 in New York City. His parents Freda and Charles were immigrants from Eastern Europe, escaping persecution there.

They established a small dry cleaning and alterations business, and Stan and his sister Dorothy spent their early years in Brooklyn, and the family then moved to Queens.

Very early on, Stan had a natural talent for all things mechanical, and eventually went on to study engineering, graduating from Purdue University with a degree in aeronautical engineering.

During his college years, he was on the wrestling team, and earned some extra money playing saxophone and clarinet in bands in the Catskills. He also learned to ski, which would become a lifelong passion later on.

After college Stan had a Porsche 356 convertible, which he would sometimes race on weekends, but that ended after he got married and started a family and needed a practical car.

He married Norma Cohen in 1957, a girl from the Bronx who had caught his attention while on vacation in the Catskills. After marriage, they settled in Yonkers and wasted no time in starting a family, their children being born in 1958, 1960 and 1962.

In 1959, Stan got a “temporary” assignment to come to Vandenberg Air Force Base to work on missile launchers, but once he and Norma got a taste of California living, they never went back.

He eventually got a job with an engineering firm in Santa Barbara, and a few years later he and a coworker started their own company Spatial Data Systems, Inc. in Goleta, making image processing equipment, which they ran for many years before selling to a larger corporation.

After selling the company, Stan became semi-retired, and ran a small business out of his home selling camera components for high-tech applications. During that time, he was doing a lot of skiing, and decided to pursue a second career as a ski instructor.

In the early ’90s, Stan and Norma purchased a condominium in Avon, Colorado, and spent many happy times there with Stan working part-time as a ski instructor at Vail into his 80s.

During that time, he was also pursuing his lifelong love of music, playing clarinet in the Santa Barbara City College orchestra, and watching master classes at the Music Academy of the West.

Also, during those years, he was a very avid bicyclist, and developed many lasting friendships with his cycling pals that continued until the end of his life. He would frequently speak fondly of his Sunday rides with the obligatory stop for coffee on the Mesa.

Norma passed away in 2015, leaving Stan heartbroken, and after a few years living alone in the family home, he decided to move to Valle Verde retirement community, where he had his own apartment. He made more friends there, and had a group of buddies that he played ping-pong with and ate dinners with, who remained friends until the end.

In October 2025, Stan had a significant decline in his health following surgery which required him to remain in the skilled nursing facility at Valle Verde, and there he made more friends and was beloved by the staff. His family appreciates the care he received there.

Stan passed away peacefully there on Sept. 10 with Hospice care.

Stan is survived by his sons Carl Schlosser (Jane) and Steven Schlosser; daughter Bonnie Schlosser; grandchildren Rachel Schlosser (Lauren), Jacob Schlosser (Nancy), Sadie Schlosser, Avery Rossi (Blake), Noah Schlosser (Jacey); great grandchildren Ryder, Raelyn and Rowen Rossi; and many friends.