An eventful journey

Luis Pena

Reaching the ripe old age of 89 hasn’t been easy for Stan Hauxhurst,

but it hasn’t stopped him from being an active and giving senior.

The Corona del Mar resident since 1972 has had a very colorful and

fulfilling life even though it had a rough start in Milwaukee, where

he grew up.

Hauxhurst was ill as a child, which caused him to start school

late. He hated being older than his classmates, he confided.

He was later expelled from boarding school in Colorado Springs,

Colo., not because of his grades but because he was caught smoking

cigarettes.

After being expelled from high school, he set his sights on the

Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. because he wanted to fly naval

aircraft. To prepare for the entrance exam, he moved in with a former

college professor, who tutored him. After receiving the tutoring, the

exam wasn’t a problem, but he was over their age limit by a month.

The rejection devastated him so much that he quit school

completely. Hauxhurst then became a journalist at the Milwaukee

Sentinel but only for a few years. He partied and drank too much, he

said, damaging his health.

Flying was one of his favorite things to do. He took his first

airplane trip when he was 11 with his famous godfather, aviator and

World War I flying ace General Billy Mitchell, who was

court-martialed for being an outspoken proponent of airpower.

Hauxhurst idealized his godfather for his heroic exploits.

When World War II came along, Hauxhurst decided to use his love of

flying to defend his country and joined the Army as a pilot. He

volunteered to be part of the glider program. He went overseas after

D-day, and he flew in Southern France, Holland and the Rhine

Crossing. After the war, he joined the Civil Air Patrol in the

Glendale squadron and flew as a search pilot.

He took his last solo flight when he was 82 years old. He still

flies occasionally with his friends.

After the war, he became a successful real-estate agent and

contractor in the La Cresenta and La Canada area.

The second World War wasn’t the only time that he decided to

volunteer his services. Hauxhurst was a California State humane

officer for five years.

Rescuing animals was one area in which Hauxhurst like to

volunteer. He donated his time to the Friends of the Sea Lion. One

year, he saved 15 sea lions after a huge storm.

He also plays bass in the Oasis Senior Center ukulele group. He

can’t play ukulele because he lost the use of his fingers in 1983

because of rheumatoid arthritis, but he learned how to play the bass

by placing it on his lap and playing it with his thumbs.

“I’m probably the only thumb bass player in Southern California,”

Hauxhurst said.

Time hasn’t been the only thing that Hauxhurst has been generous

with. In 1988, he donated a Catalina 27 to the Friends of the Oasis.

The outside storage building was named after him because he donated

the funds for it. He donated the benches that are outside of the

entrance to Oasis and one of the pool tables. The list goes on and

on.

“I like to feel useful,” Hauxhurst said. “I’ve always been busy

with trying to do something to feel needed.”

Stan will be 90 years old in March.