Stanley Otis Smalls was born in Brooklyn, NY on May 22nd, 1976 to Ramona Green and Darryl Smalls. Stanley spent the first fifteen years of his life living in Brooklyn which he always considered home. Although he had relocated to Queens, NY as a teenager, he often spent time hanging out with family and friends all over Bedstuy, Crown Heights and Flatbush.
It was in Brooklyn that he met the mother of his children, Latonya Thompson. Together they had three daughters; Tiera Elease Cecilia, Tiana Nyame Danell, and Taliah Anise Nydae.
Stanley, affectionately known as Little Stanley, Stan & Black lived a fast-paced life and was always on the go. In 2014 while residing in Connecticut, he became a truck driver, allowing him to travel cross-country and see the U.S in a different way. Stanley loved the freedom his job provided, often using his downtime on the road to do some sightseeing, visiting museums, meeting new people and simply taking in the beauty of the city.
In August of 2016, Stanley became a grandfather to a baby girl who tugged at his heart strings. Too young to be called grandpa, he was her Shen Shen, and that was his G-Star*.
In late 2016, Stanley began to experience some bouts of weakness that he attributed to a gym injury of yesteryear. Unfortunately, the weakness never subsided and in January of 2017, Stanley was rushed to the hospital where it would take months to receive a diagnosis. That “gym injury” turned out to be ALS partnered with Myasthenia Gravis, two auto immune diseases that would change life as he knew it.
Over the course of the next four years, there would be good days, and there would be challenging days, but he kept in good spirits, often not letting on to just how much he was suffering. On July 1st 2021, after being admitted to the hospital nearly two weeks before, Stanley’s suffering ended.
He is preceded in death by many who he loved and held dear to his heart, who includes his maternal grandmother Lucille Lockett and his paternal grandmother Helen Myers. He leaves to mourn his memory, his mother Ramona, his father Darryl and stepmother Santha; his daughters Tiera, Tiana & Taliah, their mother Latonya; granddaughter Sarai, his godson Kazunari; siblings Stephon, Aisha, Shanaya, Shadai, Dashaun, Nikita, Kiyana, Yasmine, Fetima, Gabrielle & Colby, a host of nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and loved ones.
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