{"id":197158,"date":"2026-02-27T22:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T22:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/197158\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T22:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T22:53:10","slug":"businessman-philanthropist-stan-oken-remembered-for-his-impact-on-valley-youth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/197158\/","title":{"rendered":"Businessman, Philanthropist Stan Oken Remembered for His Impact on Valley Youth"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Clovis businessman, philanthropist, veteran, coach, and politician who made youth development an integral part of his life died this month, leaving behind a legacy to continue far into the future.<\/p>\n

Former Fresno County Supervisor Stan Oken died Feb. 16 at age 97, according to an obituary<\/a> from Whitehurst Sullivan Burns & Blair Funeral Home.<\/p>\n

Mr. Oken, the founder of River Way Ranch Map at Wonder Valley Resort, is survived by his wife Dorothy, three children, Roy, Nancy, and Larry, eight grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nOken Remembered as Kind, Thoughtful<\/p>\n

A World War II veteran and later a businessman and a sports coach, Mr. Oken wore a variety of hats in Fresno County.<\/p>\n

In 1980, Mr. Oken survived a devastating fire at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas that killed 85 people. That experience prompted him to create Champ Camp, a summer camp for young burn survivors run by the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation.<\/p>\n

In 1973, he purchased the Wonder Valley Ranch site near Sanger. Beyond the resort, he also used the property as a place to give youth a place to learn and grow.<\/p>\n

In 1980, Mr. Oken survived a devastating fire at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas that killed 85 people. That experience prompted him to create Champ Camp, a summer camp for young burn survivors run by the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation, which recently celebrated 40 years.<\/p>\n

Mr. Oken was more than a businessman, though. From 1991 to 2000, he served on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors and as chairman from 1993 to 1997.<\/p>\n

His experience made Mr. Oken a frequent source of guidance, said former Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims. She first consulted him when she considered her run for sheriff. She would regularly turn to him for advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cStan was measured, he was thoughtful, and he was funny,\u201d Mims said. \u201cHe could be funny, and I just enjoyed talking to him whenever I had the chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before she became supervisor, Susan Anderson was the Fresno County Clerk and frequently worked with Mr. Oken on issues. She remembers his kindness and compassion.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a gentle person but firm. He was definitely opinionated and wasn\u2019t afraid to express his opinion,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cBut I just remember him being very kind and caring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winner of Leon S. Peters Award<\/p>\n

In 2016, the Fresno Chamber of Commerce honored Mr. Oken with the Leon S. Peters Award. He told the Fresno Bee<\/a> that he considered it to be the \u201chighest honor somebody could get.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said Mr. Oken was a \u201cdedicated servant to the people of Fresno.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis decades of service and commitment to improving the quality of life of every Fresno County resident will forever be remembered,\u201d Dyer said. \u201cStan was a faithful family man and dedicated servant of Jesus Christ. I am confident when Stan entered through the gates of Heaven, he heard those sought after words from God, \u2018Well done thy good and faithful servant, enter in.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

A celebration of life will be at Wonder Valley Ranch on April 19 at 11:30 a.m.. Friends, family, and community members are invited to attend after an RSVP.<\/p>\n

Call (800) 821-2801 to RSVP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Clovis businessman, philanthropist, veteran, coach, and politician who made youth development an integral part of his life…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":197159,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-197158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}