Born in High River, Alta., in 1908, Thomas Stanley grew up in an Alberta that had no power system, a period when the first farm electrification experiments languished for lack of customers.

This may have influenced his subsequent dedication to the electric utility business. He received a B.Sc. in arts from the University of Alberta in 1929, a B.Sc. in electrical engineering in 1932 and a master’s in engineering from McGill University the following year.

When he started with Calgary Power Ltd. in 1935, Stanley was the company's first apprentice engineer. His first assignment was a hydrometric survey of the Kananaskis Valley. He worked on the first steel tower transmission line constructed in the province. He handled transformer relocations and managed interconnection operations in Edmonton.

He became production engineer in 1942 and production superintendent the next year, remaining in that position until 1971 when he became manager of production. He was named vice-president, resources planning in 1972 and retired in 1975.

Stanley received his professional registration in 1939. He served as chair of the Engineering Institute of Canada (Calgary branch) and as president of the Association of Professional Engineers of Alberta (APEA; now The Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta) in 1955. He was subsequently awarded Honorary Life Membership. In 1976 he was selected by the APEGGA council as a recipient of the L.C. Charlesworth Professional Service Award. He passed away on October 7, 1987.