December 2, 1953 �" September 10, 2015
Stan Joseph Maletic died of cancer at the age of 61 on September 10, 2015, at the Coming Home Hospice in San Francisco. A resident of the city since the mid-1970s, Maletic was recognized as a photographer and photographic technician whose career spanned fashion portfolios, film and club promotion, and urban art photography.
Maletic captured LGBT life in San Francisco notably as a photographer of the queer scene of the late 1980s and 1990s, including ACT UP and Club Uranus. His work during this period appeared in the San Francisco Weekly and other publications. A number of prints of his photographs of queer activism are preserved in the archives of the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco.
As a freelancer, Maletic worked on projects including Strange de Jim's 1980 book The Strange Experience and Marc Huestis' 1993 documentary Sex Is. In the mid-1990s, he worked at Studio XII in South San Francisco, where he assisted on catalog shoots for Macy's. He later held staff positions in customer service at the San Francisco Chronicle , Williams Sonoma, and Golden Gate National Park. For the past six years, he was a member of the visitor services staff at the de Young Museum.
Born in Parma, Ohio, Maletic graduated from Padua Franciscan High School in his hometown in 1971. After briefly studying at Ohio University, he moved to California, where he took courses at San Francisco City College. He attended Cal Poly San Louis Obispo from 1982 to 1985.
Beyond his passion for photography, Maletic was an avid roller coaster enthusiast and an early member of the national organization American Coaster Enthusiasts. In addition, he was known for his love of animals, among them several cats and dogs who shared his homes over his four-plus decades in California.
Maletic is survived by his father, Stanley Maletic; his sister, Ann Marie Maletic; his brothers Tom, Mike and Paul Maletic; and many friends in San Francisco. He also is survived by Rolando Serrato, whom he mentored through the Big Brothers program and who became a chosen family member. He was preceded in death by his mother, Palmira Maletic (née Piastrelli), and his longtime partner and friend, David Escalante.
A memorial celebration is scheduled for September 29 at 11 a.m. at Modern Past, 677 Chenery Street, San Francisco. Memorial donations may be made to Coming Home Hospice, CPMC Foundation, P.O. Box 7999, San Francisco, CA 94120; www.cpmc.org/services/chh/donate.html.