Ella Marie Lydia Horsting -Stanley

Ella Marie Lydia Horsting Stanley was born in Los Angeles on June 11, 2002, to Stacey Smart Stanley and John Richard Horsting.

As a child, Ella was adventurous, charming and incredibly loving. Even at a young age, she understood empathy and always knew how to make someone feel better on a bad day—by making them laugh, offering a hug or simply giving them a hand to hold.

At Laurel Hall, she found friendship and adventure from preschool through fifth grade. At St. Francis Xavier, she survived the melodrama of middle school and found a true community in our new home town of Burbank. She volunteered often throughout our community as a member of the NCL class of 2021. At Notre Dame High School, she learned discipline, blossomed as a writer, and began forming the deep, lasting friendships that would become such an important part of her life. As a COVID senior, she made the best of mediocre versions of prom and graduation, but kept her family entertained with homemade videos and themed dress-up dinners.

Ella chose to stay close to home and attend Pasadena City College, where she earned her associate degree and graduated with honors in 2024 before transferring to UC Santa Cruz. She graduated from UCSC with honors in June 2026 with a degree in sociology.

Ella had a deep love for all animals, beginning with her first love, Cody—but nothing compared to her love for horses. It started, as it does for many little girls, with a horse-themed birthday party and trips to the pony rides, then grew into weekly lessons at the Equestrian Center. That love evolved through long summers at Fairlea Ranch, where she learned the ins and outs of horsemanship, and continued as a member of the Notre Dame and Santa Cruz Equestrian Teams. Her loss has been felt by horse communities who knew and loved her short time on this earth.

At 16, circumstances brought Ella and Duke, her beloved horse, together, and together they remained until the time of her death. Ella was allowed to keep Duke as long as she paid all of his expenses herself—a condition that unlocked her entrepreneurial spirit. She worked at barns throughout Burbank and the surrounding areas, taught lessons, negotiated leases and even found Duke occasional work as a horse model. Duke remains her most loyal friend and truest love. During college and after graduation, Ella fell in love with the business of music, where her entrepreneurial spirit and natural gift for connecting with people came together. She bragged often about the artists she worked with and was excited to begin building her career.

Ella was a joy to her family. Growing up across two households, she understood how to navigate family dynamics and bring people together. As deeply as she loved her parents, she equally loved her stepparents, Wendy and Jim. At 17, she chose to appear before a family court judge and ask to change her name to “Horsting Stanley” as a way of bringing all of us together.

Ella was a beloved granddaughter. She visited or checked in on all her grandparents often and called Ellen almost daily with updates on all things, big and small. Jerry retired from his city job and became her nanny from birth until age seven.

To Prudence, Ella was much more than an older sister. She was a confidante, a friend and often a third parent—getting Prudence ready for prom, teaching her to parallel park and offering (mostly unsolicited) advice on absolutely everything.

Ella loved and was deeply loved by her boyfriend, James Desjarlais. Their relationship brought her tremendous happiness and was an important part of the life she was building. With James, Ella was completely herself—enjoying music, discovering the joy of cooking, loving all things anime, indulging her obsession with dragons, learning to speak High Valyrian and heading off on adventures from sword fighting at Medieval Times, Ski Trips in Tahoe or snorkeling in Cabo San Lucas .

There are enormous things her family will miss, and countless small ones: the tornado of Ella’s belongings throughout the house; her wonderfully questionable pronunciation of words; watching anime together—sometimes under protest, until somehow everyone was invested; the barn; the stories; the laughter; and, perhaps most painfully, the simple nightly ritual of saying, “Goodnight, Ella Bella.”

Ella had a gift for making people feel seen, understood and deeply cared for. Twenty-four years was nowhere near enough.

Ella died on August 29, 2026 in Los Angeles California. She was preceded in death by her grandfather, James Stanley, and her cousin, Mark Rodgers and the parents of JR and Wendy. She is survived by her parents, Stacey and Jim Stanley and JR and Wendy Horsting; her sister, Prudence; her grandparents, Jerry and Ellen Smart and Karen Stanley; her boyfriend, James Desjarlais; and many beloved aunts, uncles, cousins and countless friends from every part of her life.

A Celebration of Life mass will be held at 10:00 a.m. on October 17, 2026, at St. Francis Xavier Church in Burbank. A reception will immediately follow.

In lieu of flowers, Ella’s family has partnered with NCL Burbank to create the Ella’s Light Memorial Fund, dedicated to supporting causes and activities through community philanthropy partners that reflect Ella’s passions and legacy. Donations can be made at donate.billhighway.com/NCLBurbankEllasLight.