Breckenridge Texan

Stan Carstens

Stan Carstens
April 27
21:33 2022

Stan Carstens, 67, of Breckenridge, passed away on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. The family will welcome friends for a visitation in the Family Life Center at First Baptist Church on Saturday, April 30, 2022, from 11:00 a.m. until noon. His interment will be a private, family-only event.

Stan Lee Carstens, a second-generation German immigrant, was born on February 18, 1955, in Rock Springs, Wyoming, to parents Larry and Marvel Carstens. Due to his father being a federal game warden, Stan went to numerous public schools as a kid and teenager. Before graduating high school, he had earned the titles of National Rifle Sharpshooter and Golden Glove State Champion. He graduated as the Salutatorian from Niobrara County High School in Lusk, Wyoming. Because of a dual academic and athletic scholarship, Stan continued his education at Eastern Wyoming Junior College in Torrington, Wyoming. While there, he served as the president of the student body. He then transferred to the University of Wyoming in Laramie to finish his education.

His impeccable customer service blossomed at the age of 14 when he sold his first car in Buffalo, Wyoming. He rode his bike down to the local bank to arrange financing for his new customers. He earned his money in college by going to the auto auctions in Denver to purchase vehicles for his professors and friends. In 1976, at the age of 21, he began working at and became the manager of Barnett Young Motor Company in Mineral Wells. Then in 1982, at the age of 27, he moved to Breckenridge and became the youngest independently owned General Motors dealer in the nation. Throughout his ownership, he weathered recessions, inflations, and government take-overs. And after 27 years, he remained in the top 5% of dealers in the nation in the categories of sales, service, and customer satisfaction!

In 1981, he married Shelley, a woman with three active children. His civic duties began immediately after moving to Breckenridge. One such endeavor was the formation of the soccer association for his children. He was active in the Kiwanas Club, Quail Unlimited, the Breckenridge City Council, Beautify Breckenridge, Breckenridge Industrial Foundation, Rolling Planes Technical Institute, Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce, Breckenridge Industrial Foundation, Stephens County Appraisal Board, West Central Texas Municipal Water District, as well as the First National Bank Board. The civic projects he has worked on and helped bring to Breckenridge were the Walker Sayle Prison Unit, the Breckenridge City Park, the Law Enforcement Center, as well as TSTC. He was also instrumental in bringing several privately held businesses to Breckenridge. He has campaigned and lobbied for many local and national political candidates in order to help bring prosperity to Breckenridge’s industry and agricultural communities. And in 2009, Stan was honored by the Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce as the Citizen of the Year.

Stan was preceded in death by his parents, Larry and Marvel. He is survived by his wife of over 40 years, Shelley; children, Jonathan Newton and wife Stepheni, Julie McNett and husband Kevin, and Bonnie Aughenbaugh and husband James; and 15 grandchildren: Carstens and Curry Newton; Chandler, Claire, and Cameron David; Taylor, Desiree, and Madison Stanley; Ashley, Allison, Lane, and Bryson McNett; and Alex, Ellen, and Isabelle Aughenbaugh.

Memorial donations in Stan’s name can be made to Meals on Wheels for Breckenridge or Woodson and can be left at Melton-Kitchens Funeral Home. Condolences can be made online at meltonkitchens.com.

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