February 13, 1938, to December 17, 2023
With deep sadness, we announce the passing of longtime Newport Island
resident Stanley Joseph Zor on December 17th, 2023. A longtime dialysis patient, Stan
passed away from a damaged heart, attended by family in Newport Beach’s Hoag
Hospital.
Stan was born to John and Anna Zor on February 13th, 1938, in Hudson, NY. His family
name was originally Ẑur, but when his parents emigrated from Poland, a clerical mistake
gave them the name Zor.
Bright, ambitious, adventurous, friendly, with a sense of humor, Stan grew up in the
New York area before moving to California, where he attended Cal State Long Beach
and UCLA as an engineering major.
Over the years, Stan had a variety of jobs, including a stint as a parimutuel clerk at Los
Alamitos Race Track and at North American Rockwell as an engineer, where he
worked on Apollo 6 and Apollo 7.
During his time at Rockwell, he met and married Elaine Cooper, the love of
his life. They held the ceremony on June 20th, 1959, in St. Bernard’s Church in
Bellflower, California. Stan and Elaine were married for 61 years until she passed away
two years ago.
After visiting his longtime friends and former Newport Island residents, Kenny and
Darleen Coleman, who lived in the 500 block of 38th Street, Stan and Elaine fell in love
with the island and bought their home at 4011 Marcus in 1980.
Stan was on the Newport Island Committee when he and others turned over the
Edwards-owned property that is now our Newport Island Park to the city. Initially, Stan
tried to negotiate with the city for our island to maintain ownership of the park with the
City of Newport providing services, but the city wouldn’t go for it. If not for the foresight
of Stan and others, the park would have four more houses and our island would not
have some of the charm it has today.
Stan invested wisely, and after retirement, he continued working as a day trader and
landlord. He also pursued his passions, which included sailing and boating, history,
traveling, car collecting, and smoking cigars.
Surviving him are brother Johnny Zor, daughter Kimberly Shaw, son Brian Zor, son-in-
Law Kevin Shaw, and grandchildren Jill Zor, Kody Shaw, Brenton Shaw, Lexie Shaw,
Britney Shaw, Evan Shaw, Preston Shaw, Parker Shaw, and Jessica Shaw.
His wife, Elaine, his son, Greg Zor, and his sister, Genevieve, predeceased him in death.
Services for Stan are at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church on the peninsula at
10:00 AM on Saturday, January 20th, 2024.
Beautiful life…. he will be missed!