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Obituary

Job offer sparked a life of adventure

For years, Stanley Black lived in Central America, where he managed fruit farms owned by American companies.

By MARTY CLEAR
Published October 14, 2005

W. STANLEY BLACK, 1935-2005

GOLFVIEW - Stanley Black and his wife were young and newly married when he got his first job offer in Central America.

"It seemed like fun, and we didn't have any kids, so we just thought, "Why not?' " Carolyn Black said. "It was just kind of a lark."

That decision led the Black family to an adventurous life in villages and small towns throughout Central America, where Mr. Black managed fruit farms owned by American companies.

"Vagabonds, I guess that's what you'd call us," Mrs. Black said. "It was an exciting life."

He died Oct. 9 at age 70.

Mr. Black retired to Tampa in 1990 but never really stopped working. Even after he was diagnosed with an unidentified virus, Mr. Black insisted on returning to Central America a few months ago to finish up some business.

"He did not slip easily into retirement," his son Michael said.

Mr. Black was born in Lubbock, Texas, and went to the same high school as Buddy Holly, who was two years older.

After graduation, Mr. Black served briefly in the military. He was stationed in Korea just after the war, then returned home and attended Harvard University's business school.

Shortly after he graduated, he and Carolyn married. He responded to an ad in the Wall Street Journal for a company called Standard Fruit and Steamship that was looking for people to manage banana farms in Honduras.

It was a primitive lifestyle, compared with what they had known in the United States. Mr. Black coordinated growing, picking and shipping operations, and a lack of technology made that difficult.

"Back in those days, they didn't have telephones," Mrs. Black said. "And coordination was so crucial, especially in bananas, because everything has to be done in such a timely way. There weren't any roads, and you had to cross mountains to get from one farm to another. My husband learned to fly because that was the best way to communicate with all the farms."

But the Blacks soon found the culture and the lifestyle appealing.

"We were living in small towns, and the people were so wonderful," Mrs. Black said. "And we got to know and appreciate different cultures."

The couple lived in several places in Honduras and later moved to Costa Rica, where their three children were born. Mr. Black later accepted a position in New Orleans with the company, and the Blacks decided to put their wanderlust on hold until their children finished school. Then it was back to the tropics for another few years.

They came to Tampa in 1990. The Blacks had their choice of Florida cities but found that Tampa best suited their tastes. They settled in Golfview, where Mrs. Black still lives.

"The people here are great," she said. "And we always thought Tampa was more Southern than the cities on the east coast. Being from Texas, we liked the Southern lifestyle."

Mr. Black stayed active and involved in his business activities until this spring. He was a member of the Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club.

"He was very detail-oriented," his wife said. "He wrote his own obituary, and he planned his own funeral service."

Although he had spent much of his life living in exotic locales, his plans for his funeral included a nod to his birthplace. He asked that the music include the song American Pie, a tribute to his Lubbock schoolmate.

In addition to his wife and son Michael, Mr. Black is survived by another son, Bill, daughter Caroline and five grandchildren.

[Last modified October 13, 2005, 08:20:12]