Stanley Carlos Lara

Stanley Carlos Lara, age 85, of Boise, Idaho, passed away on April 5, 2026, Easter Sunday. Stan was born on November 29th, 1940, in North Hollywood, California to Clara Bastardo and Jose Sanchez Lara. He graduated from Polytechnic High School in Riverside, California in June 1959. In April 1960, Stan enlisted with the United States Marine Corps. Though he terminated his military obligation in April 1966, Stan’s veteran status remained an active part of his identity throughout his life. During his military career, Stan became involved in the sport of Karate and continued practicing for much of his adult life with the USKO and IKL organizations. Stan achieved international Karate champion status twice in his life, in Hawaii, in the 1970s and in 1986. He went on to run a Karate school in Loma Linda, California in the 1980s. Stan is remembered for being athletic and fit for much of his life, and in the 1970s and 80s was an avid snow skier who brought artistic skills into designing logos for his karate and handball activities.

Stan was a friendly, charismatic man who thrived on social interactions and loved to laugh. He could be firm and fierce when he needed to, but Stan was well recognized, loved, and respected in his social and family circles as someone who stood out and would have your back when it counted. He could always be counted on to tell a deep and meaningful story or give a lecture. That charisma and enthusiasm was Stan’s personal trademark. His kids have noted that no matter where they went with him, Stan would inevitably be approached by someone who knew him. Stan was a lifelong artist specializing in striking ink and charcoal drawings depicting contemplative life moments. His work has been displayed at the Boise VA Medical Center where he also worked just prior to his retirement in 2019. When he wasn’t using his spare time to draw a new art piece, you could find Stan building furniture or doing repairs on the family cars and home.

In the early 1970s, Stan studied cosmetology at Riverside Community College. His career included work as a house painter; a hairstylist who co-founded two hair salons - Don Carlos and Stage One Hair Design; a sales associate; a civilian merchant vendor on base in Iraq; and he retired from the Boise VA Medical Center in 2019. Stan grew up in Dallas, Texas; Los Angeles, California; and Mira Loma, California; lived in Riverside and San Bernardino, California as an adult; and spent the later decades of his life in Boise, Idaho. Stan is survived by his children, Stacey, Stanley (Katie), Kendra (Kyle), and Hans; his grandchildren: Johnny, JJ, Hadley, Aliyah, Stella, and Sofie; and his great grandchildren: Monty and Sabrina.

QUOTES:

“I don’t know what is the meaning of death, but I am not afraid to die. And I go on, non-stop, going forward, even though I may die some day without fulfilling all of my ambitions, I will have no regrets. I did what I wanted to do and what I’ve done, I’ve done with sincerity and to the best of my ability. You can’t expect much more from life.” – Bruce Lee

"The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering." – Bruce Lee