10/12/2026
OCA - Greater Washington DC - APA Advocates (OCA-DC) and 1882 Foundation mourn the loss of our dear friend, colleague, and community leader, Stan Lou, as Past President of OCA-DC and Co-Founder and Director of Talk Story at the 1882 Foundation. We wanted to share this tribute to recognize his leadership, thoughtfulness, and service to Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. We would like to collect photos, videos, stories, and personal memories that can be included in his memorial tribute.
**A Life of Service**
Stan was deeply involved with OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates. He served as President and Vice President of Community Outreach for the Greater Washington DC Chapter and as Vice-President for Education and Culture on the OCA National Board. He continued to serve the DC chapter as a member of its Senior Advisory Board, mentoring current board members and contributing to education, advocacy and other community initiatives. He was also a generous supporter of OCA, contributing substantially to both chapters and national organization including opening his home to OCA National summer interns during their time in DC.
Stan has unselfishly shared his time and expertise in community events throughout the Washington DC area, no matter how insignificant the task. He volunteered at homeless shelters, greeted guests and registered attendees, served as an emcee and speaker, helped prepare and clean up after community events, and took on whatever work was needed to make an event or program successful. He gave his time freely and without regard to whether the task brought recognition. He was recognized at the OCA National Convention 2024 as one of OCA’s Unsung Heroes.
Stan also worked with DC Chinatown organizations such as Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, Chinese Youth Club, 1882 Foundation, and OCA-DC to organize parts of the annual Lunar Year Parade in Chinatown, leading it to be one the largest and most diverse parades ever. He also joined many of these groups to highlight the Mid-Autumn Festival and Qing Ming as times for national celebration and observance.
Stan also served as a Church School Sunday Forum speaker and member of steering committee in the DC Chinatown Park series, a summer program to revitalize the community’s involvement in highlighting the significant contribution of this historic area as a cultural touchstone. He was also a longtime Elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA), bringing the same spirit of service, fellowship, and commitment to his faith community.
**Preserving Stories and History**
Stan's most enduring legacy is his commitment to making sure that Asian American stories were remembered, preserved, and heard. As a founding member of the 1882 Foundation, he helped build an organization dedicated to uncovering, understanding, preserving, and sharing Chinese American stories. Through the Foundation, he helped bring attention to histories that might otherwise have been overlooked.
One of the clearest expressions of this commitment was the Chinatown Talk Story series, which Stan helped lead as Director for more than a decade. Beginning in 2012, these monthly gatherings created a space for community members to share personal experiences of immigration, identity, acculturation, family, and life as Chinese Americans. Talk Story received a second place award in 2019 for recognition as a Signature Program.
The series welcomed everyone from local community members to nationally recognized authors, filmmakers, historians, and researchers often telling little known but significant history lessons. Many of the events were organized entirely through volunteer effort, often with little or no budget. Stan’s leadership and passion for preserving stories shaped TalkStory into a space for community gathering and sharing.
Stan carried that philosophy into the 1882 Foundation's national work, including its annual symposium, which brought together museums, historical societies, government agencies, private organizations, and individuals interested in preserving Chinese and Asian American history. The Symposium focuses on how we tell our stories, shape storytelling, and consider heritage and its preservation as a civil right.
Stan was also a leader in the 1882 Foundation’s collaboration with the Black History Museum of Alexandria for the film festival that featured APA films on identity. This includes an 1882 Foundation produced film, “Through Chinatown’s Eyes: April 1968.” This told the story of the impact on Chinatown from the disturbances after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.
Stan also helped foster the next generation of storytellers through the Foundation’s summer internship program, welcoming students from colleges and universities around the country and helping them engage with Asian American history and community storytelling.
**His Enduring Legacy**
Stan Lou was a dear friend, mentor, teacher, and champion to generations of future leaders in the AANHPI communities. His legacy and passion for education and storytelling lives on through the next generation of leaders he has mentored.
Stan touched many parts of the Washington, DC, community. We invite community leaders, colleagues, friends, and those whose lives he influenced to share a memory or reflection through a photo, video, or message about him and his legacy. Please post directly through the online guestbook linked to the obituary or directly on this form us us to compile and share: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeM0cWQ3KdfBmQILTTkeB26tC0qz4V_hoeOo4SoyrCZJDJtKw/viewform
You can read more about Stan’s life here: obituary.
https://obituaries.carewellcremations.com/stanley-lou?ttm_pid=212224623&ttm_affiliate=legacypro&ttm_affiliatetype=standard&ttm_campaign=legacy
