Obituary of Jack Stanley Thibaut, Jr.

Stan Thibaut was born in Marion, OH on a cold January day in 1948. The family moved to Rochester, NY when he was young and he grew up on Menard Dr. in Rochester. He attend high school in Greece, NY where he graduated in 1966.

He worked for a short time at Eastman Kodak then joined the Irondequoit Police Department. This began his career in a law enforcement. After 3 years of policing the Rochester suburb, he decided he wanted to live in retirement weather while he was young enough to enjoy it. He moved to Tucson in 1974 and began working for the Tucson Police Department. After working patrol and a few other assignments, he was accepted into the solo motor unit. He had been riding his own motorcycle to work and it was love at first ride. The progression of his professional career to Police Motors was a logical path.

He worked solo motors for 17 years. In that time he was instrumental in helping to develop the motors training course for the department as well as standardizing the training for RADAR instruction. He received the Medal of Merit and the Medal of Service for his contributions.

He retired from the department in 1997 after teaching one last motors class. He accepted a position with the Tucson Marshals, a subunit of the police department. He continued providing service to the City of Tucson in this role until a second retirement in 2009.

He was active in his church and helped found Desert Hope Lutheran Church in 2010. Always a willing servant, he participated in the Agua Prieta Shelters ministry, the facilities team and the church leadership counsel.

Retirement offered him the opportunity to spend more time with his motorcycle passion. He earned the Iron Butt designation for riding over 1000 miles in 24 hours. He took trips annually that crossed the country as well as day tripping around southern Arizona. His total life time, recreational riding exceeded 300,000 miles. He belonged to numerous motorcycle organizations including the AMA, Blue Knights AZ IX (founding member), BMW Riders Association, South East Arizona Touring Riders (SEAT), and others.

In June 2011 he began volunteering at the Tucson Wildlife Center. He continued to serve in this capacity until his death.

In his retirement, he rekindled his interest in shooting sports and was a member of the Tucson Rifle Club. While not as enjoyable as motorcycling, the activity gave him the chance to connect and reconnect with like minded friends.

On April 18, 2020 he passed away leaving behind his wife Patti, his four children, Michele Schwartz (husband Stuart), Wendy Osterhoudt (husband David), Todd Thibaut (wife Jessica) and Lorraine Early Thibaut, his grandchildren Alison Schwartz, Rachel Schwartz, Josh Osterhoudt, Emily Osterhoudt, Leia Thibaut, Luke Thibaut, and Ben Thibaut. Also left behind are his two sisters, Linda Brennan and Pam Honan (husband Tom) and his nephew, Casey Brennan. Stan was buried at East Lawn Cemetery in Tucson, AZ.

When gathering restrictions are lifted, a Celebration of Life will be held at Desert Hope Lutheran Church, 7474 E. Speedway.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to be made in Stan’s name to the 100 Club (https://www.100club.org), Tucson Hearts of Gold (tucsonheartsofgold.org), Agua Prieta Shelters (https://www.Apshelters.org) or the Tucson Wildlife Center (http://tucsonwildlife.com/).

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