Stanley Smith Wirsig, 95, of Woodstock, CT, passed away on February 11, 2012. He was born on August 4th, 1916, in Syracuse, NY, the son of Carl F. and Charlotte (Smith) Wirsig. He is survived by Arlene B. (nee Wilkenson) Wirsig, his beloved wife of 71 years, and their four children, Diana Rowan Rockefeller of Cambridge, MA, JoAnne Wasilko and her husband Charles, of Lexington, MA, Victoria Embree and her husband Craig, of Woodstock, CT, and Stanley Wirsig, Jr. and his wife Wendy, of Medfield, MA. Grandchildren include Ariana (Rockefeller) Bucklin, Camilla Rockefeller, Earl Smith, Jennifer (Wasilko)Wiley, David, Christopher and Ryan Embree, and Kira and Colin Wirsig; great-grandchildren include Jennie, Rana, and Tristan Wiley, and Stella Isabel Smith. Stanley was predeceased by his two brothers Henry and Paul. Stanley graduated from Syracuse University with a BS degree in chemical engineering, and later earned his MBA from Harvard University. He served as a pilot in the US Air Force in World War II, and flew many reconnaissance missions. He resumed his engineering career in the carbon industry following the war. An outdoorsman from an early age, he passed on his love of hiking, camping, canoeing, and gardening to his children, as well as to many Boy Scouts and other young people. He had a lifelong interest in the restoration of the American Chestnut Tree; he was a co-founder of the New York State chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation, and devoted much time in his later years to the promotion of research into chestnut blight resistance. He was an elder in the Presbyterian Church, and served in many capacities as a member of the Youngstown, NY congregation for 38 years, before moving to Woodstock CT in 2006. A memorial service is planned for February 25th, 2012, at 10:30 AM at the Evangelical Covenant Church, 24 Child Hill Rd, Woodstock, Connecticut. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in memory of Stanley to the American Chestnut Foundation, 160 Zillicoa St., Suite D, Asheville, NC, 28801. Arrangements are by Smith and Walker Funeral Home of Putnam, CT