Scott Stanley, Long-time N.J. carpet retailer Article Number : 1911

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Date	4/17/2007 8:41:06 AM
Written By	LGM & Associates Technical Flooring Services
View this article at:	//floorbiz.com/BizResources/NPViewArticle.asp?ArticleID=1911
Abstract	Westfield, N.J.—Scott Stanley, for many years co-owner of The Carpet Mill in East Hanover, N.J., died in a diving accident March 16. He was 55. Stanley was diving with three other men offshore of Key Largo, Fla., when the accident happened...
Article	Westfield, N.J.—Scott Stanley, for many years co-owner of The Carpet Mill in East Hanover, N.J., died in a diving accident March 16. He was 55. Stanley was diving with three other men offshore of Key Largo, Fla., when the accident happened. Two others, Kevin Coughlin, 51, and Jonathan Walsweer, 38, also perished. The fourth man, Howard Spialter, survived. The incident occurred while the four were exploring the U.S.S. Spiegel Grove, a 510-foot-long former Navy support ship that was sunk in 2002 to form an artificial reef and dive site. Swirling silt likely blinded the divers and blocked their exit from the pump room of the ship, officials and scuba experts said. Aside from being part owner of The Carpet Mill, Stanley was also certified as an instructor in both scuba diving and karate. He co-founded a diving supply store, Treasurer Cove Divers in Westfield, N.J., which was sold a few years ago. Stanley was a crew member on several dive boats on the Jersey Shore, a 4th degree black belt and a karate instructor at the Shimamoto School of Karate and the South Mountain School of Karate. According to his wife, Marianne, Stanley started in the carpet business part-time while in high school at age 16 and had been a store owner since he was 25. “He was an extremely active person, very outgoing and very into physical fitness,” she said. “The amount of people who came out to the service was incredible. I never realized how many people Scott touched. He was dependable, loved his family and adored his children.” It was the passing of his own father when he was very young that drove Stanley to live every day to the fullest, according to his wife. “It’s what gave him the energy to do all the things he did.” Among his many activities, Stanley was also involved with Wounded Warriors, an organization whose mission is to raise public awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women. “They were just starting a program where they were going to train the amputees coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan to scuba dive,” Marianne said. “My husband and his friends were going to volunteer to help them do that.” Aside from his wife, Stanley’s survivors include his son, David, and daughter, Lauren. In lieu of flowers, Stanley’s family asks donations be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675-8517.