Stanley Spencer Beus, 95, of Flagstaff, Arizona passed away on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. He was born on July 31, 1930 in Salt Lake City, Utah the oldest son of Rulon and Hope Spencer Beus. Stanley grew up with his sister and six brothers in Menan, Idaho on a dairy farm graduating from Midway High School in 1948.

He attended Ricks College where he met his sweetheart Carma Albrechtsen. After serving a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Northern California and Oregon, he returned home and married Carma in the Salt Lake Temple on February 18, 1953. After serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he and Carma and three daughters moved to Logan, Utah to attend Utah State University where they both completed masters degrees. The family then moved to UCLA for Stanley to earn his PhD in Paleontology where three more children were born. He is survived by 4 children, Rebecca, Michele, Sterling and Jennifer, 17 grandchildren, 48 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife Carma in 2003 and daughter Marcia in 2021 and infant son Benjamin in 1960.

Stanley then moved his family to Flagstaff, Arizona where he established the geology department at NAU. As a paleontologist and regent professor he enjoyed seeing the geology department grow during his 32 years there. He authored multiple publications of his indepth study of the Grand Canyon. During his tenure as a professor in 1970, he took a sabbatical to do research in Great Britain moving the family to Swansea, Wales where they lived for one year. He and Carma later moved to New Zealand for a second sabbatical and eventually retired to Sedona, Arizona in 1994. Together they served a mission for two years in Laie, Hawaii.

He was a life long devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he served in various leadership positions. He was an avid scout leader and received the Silver Beaver Award taking his last group of scouts to the Grand Canyon at age 87.

In 2006 he married Mary Jane Smith, also widowed and they enjoyed 18 years together before she passed in 2024. Stanley and Mary Jane moved to Flagstaff in 2021.

Stanley was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. His grandchildren all have fond memories of his patient way of teaching them about the earth as they often hiked and camped together. He is a disciple of Jesus Christ leaving a lasting legacy for his posterity quoting the following in his own words: "May I express to you my conviction that the most important things to me are the Gospel of Jesus Christ and my family associations…. All that I have learned in my profession as a geologist attests to the law and order in the universe. This too, strengthened my Testimony of the Fatherhood of God and our divine origins. I am a child of God and a member of a beloved earthly-and eternal-family. These things are of the greatest importance to me."

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, July 1st, 2026 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 625 E. Cherry Ave, Flagstaff, Az. (Viewing 10:00am, Funeral 11:00am, Graveside 1:00pm at Citizen's Cemetery).The family is so grateful for the care that Stanley received at The Bluffs and from Maggie's Hospice.