Noble Stansbury, Jr., 74, of Oakdale died peacefully on Sept. 18 at home with his family.

He was born in Ada, Okla. He came to California in 1945 with his parents, Noble and Nora, and his seven sisters.

Mr. Stansbury and his wife Mary resided in the Bay Area until they bought property in Oakdale in 1980.

He operated his own business, Noble Signs for 35 years. Although a lot of time was spent behind his desk designing signs that were placed all over the country, much time was spent poring over the Ropers Sports News. Team roping was his passion and planning which jackpot to attend next was a very serious matter.

The roping arena at the ranch is where he preferred to spend his time. It was never too hot, too cold, or too windy to gallop his horses or chase steers down the arena. He was known for having big, strong, pretty horses. He had a knack for training young horses. He passed his knowledge on to many people through the years and was never too busy to help someone.

Several years ago, he met a difficult problem. He dealt with Parkinson’s disease in the same strong, methodical way he ran his entire life – teaching the doctors and nurses about dealing gracefully with the disease. His family is his legacy. He gave them all the tools and skills to carry on his cowboy heritage.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Mary; son, Skip; daughter, Debra (Leong); granddaughters, Andrea Stone, Shelby Stansbury; and two great-grandchildren.

Per his request, no services.

The Oakdale (Calif.) Leader

Sept. 25, 2013