Stanley Albert Kistler, Jr. passed away peacefully on September 29, 2022. He was 91 years old. Stan was a California native and an avid railroad photographer, famed for Santa Fe images as well an author of books and a film producer.

Stan grew up in San Diego and Pasadena and took his first photographs at the age of 12, capturing images of an early diesel locomotive on the Santa Fe, a railroad with which he had a lifelong association.

Photography was also Stan’s profession. He worked in graphics at the Pasadena-based California Institute of Technology and later for the Grass Valley Group. Stan also created audio recordings and occasional 16mm films. Produced under his own S.K. Railroad Recordings label, he released several LPs in the late 1950s and early ’60s, the stand-out being “Whistles in the Woods.” In 2009, the Santa Fe society published “Stan Kistler’s Santa Fe in Black and White,” a deluxe black-and-white showcase of some of his best work.
Stan’s enthusiasm for the railroad was boundless. He was a friend and mentor to many, was always generous with his time and was a caring, loving husband and father.

Stan is survived by his sister, Donna Davis, daughters Rene’ Hardrath and Erinn Cooke, and grandchildren Krista Lanum and Ryan Hardrath.
Arrangements are under the direction of Hooper & Weaver Mortuary.