Born in
Lincoln County,
Kansas, Stanley was a sergeant in the
United States Army during
World War I, from 1918 to 1919 and a Fireman First Class in the
United States Navy from 1921 to 1925. He received a
Bachelor of Laws from the
Kansas City School of Law (now the
University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law) in 1928, and was in private practice in
Kansas City, Kansas from 1928 to 1933, county attorney of
Wyandotte County, Kansas from 1934 to 1940, and a member of the
Kansas Senate from 1940 to 1941. He was a lieutenant colonel in the
United States Army during
World War II from 1941 to 1945, returning to private practice in Kansas City, Kansas from 1945 to 1958. ==Federal judicial service==