Obituary of Stanley Butolph

It is with deep sorrow that the passing of Stan Butolph, founder and owner of Cypress Packaging Corporation, was announced. Stan passed away at home, surrounded by his family, on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at the age of 94. Stan was born in Stockton, California and was raised in Tracy, graduating in 1948 from Tracy Union High School. His passion while growing up was baseball and Stan was a recognized baseball star in high school, famously representing his team at shortstop. An ardent player, Stan was a draft choice for the Atlanta Crackers in 1950, the precursor to the Atlanta Braves. Deciding to forego a career in baseball, Stan instead proudly chose to attend University of California, Berkeley. In 1950 he enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean Conflict and was sent to Washington DC to work in the OSS intelligence division, returning to Cal to graduate in 1957. Through the years, Stan was an avid fan of Cal's Bear Backers and for many seasons, Stan and Barbara returned to Cal's campus and loved to watch the Golden Bears play football at Memorial Stadium. Upon entering the business world, Stan became a true pioneer in the packaging industry. His incredible journey began nearly 65 years ago, when Stan envisioned the need for a company providing materials used for packaging and shipping perishable products all over the world. His business served many industries in the Salinas Valley, Central California and later expanded into Arizona, Southern California and Mexico. His passion and incredible dedication to his customers went far beyond business relationships, and evolved into deep, lifelong friendships. He was a member and supporter of the Western Growers Association. What Stan enjoyed more than anything else was his family. He dearly loved his grandchildren, friends, laughter and travel, but most importantly his beloved wife and their second homes in Hawaii. His lifelong commitment to health and fitness included almost daily running, tennis or swimming, and he headed straight to the mountains with his family to ski, whenever the snow fell! Important to Stan was his deep Christian faith, and his joy of watching Sunday morning worship services. Stan is survived by his adoring wife of 54 years, Barbara, who provided tender, long-term care for him; his children, Cynthia House (William George), Maureen Cretaro, Laurie Langland, Marcy Anderson (Sherwood), and his treasured grandchildren Scott, Hilary, Ashley, Daniel, Rachel, Nathan, Emily, Katherine, Abigail, Lindsey and two great granddaughters, Eden and Sophia. Stan is preceded in death by his beloved parents, Evelyn and Stiles Ray Butolph. A special thank you to his health care team, Drs. Neil Sawhney, Brandon Lindberg, Bruce Eisendorf and his wonderful nurses from Sutter VNA, Hospice of Santa Cruz County and Watsonville Wound Treatment Center. Also, a deep thank you to his personal nurse, Karole Palmberg, for her compassionate care for over 3 years. Private family services honoring Stan will be held. Memorial tributes may be expressed to: Samaritan's Purse - www.samaritanspurse.org Tunnels To Towers - www.t2t.org May his final journey be filled with beautiful sunshine, crystal-clear alpine lakes, majestic mountains and colorful Hawaiian sunsets, and the hope that the Cal Bears will continue to beat Stanford! GO BEARS!