When Stantley Thomas was about to turn 18, his mother, Azuree Oliver, asked him what he wanted for his birthday, and the answer was surprising.
It wasn’t a car.
It wasn’t a trip to the Bahamas.
It was a name change. He wanted to honor Frank Oliver, the man who has raised him since he was eight years old.
“My stepfather, he has been in my life and has done a tremendous job raising the three of us, me and my two younger brothers,” said the young man who, now and forever, will be known as Stantley Thomas-Oliver.