Uncle John Stone

[Californiaman]

My Uncle John passed away recently.

We will burry him tomorrow. He was 91.

A greater man I will never meet.

 

Just so you know: The official word from the U.S. Government was that we did not have nuclear weapons in England during the cold war.

Uncle John knows differently. In fact one young airman cracked one day and started a stand off between military police, the commanding officers and himself. The young man stood over a nuclear bomb with a loaded, cocked 45 pistol. Uncle John gave the orders to a sniper to get up on the catwalk of the aircraft hanger and wait for the order to shoot. Fortunately, he didn't have to give the order. The young airman collapsed after 10 hours of stress.

But we never had nuclear weapons in Europe.

 

Later in life he made sure a young. double amputee (a boy from China who had lost both arms after being run over by a train) recieve two prostetic arms. That boy went on to become a doctor.

 

For a hillbilly from West Virginia, my uncle was an amazing guy.

 

Here's his obituary:

 

John R. Stone

 

John Robert Stone was a Christian, military man, leader, storyteller, volunteer, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, and friend to all who knew him.

 

John was born in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, June 27, 1922, the youngest son of four children of Guy Edward Stone, Sr., and Ida Pearl Stone. His father was an Assembly of God pastor and his parents helped build churches throughout western Virginia. John attended Big Stone Gap High School where he played for the schools football team.

 

After joining the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1941, John met and married the love of his life, Sylvia Mae Ambrose while he was stationed at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, in 1943. Over his military career, John was stationed in Texas, Missouri, Illinois, Great Britain, West Germany, Northern California, Nebraska, and at Vandenberg AFB. While stationed in West Germany, he served as European Command Sergeant Major. In 1960, he was one of the first five men in the European Zone to be promoted to Chief Master Sergeant, a new rank for the Air Force. He served as first sergeant of the air police and various support squadrons at Air Force bases here and abroad.

 

John enjoyed sports and, while in the Air Force, coached baseball and basketball teams, winning several championships. In addition, he umpired Air Force baseball games for many years. At R.A.F. Sculthorpe, England, he served as president of the NCO Club. After his retirement from the Air Force in 1968, John became a resident of Santa Maria. John loved the car business and went to work for Home Motors Chevrolet, where he was the used car sales manager. He later went on to start his own used car business.

 

John embodied the meaning of loving by doing. It was always important for him to show others the love of God by helping and caring for those who were in need. He was a church leader, an Elk, a Mason, and a Shriner. John was on the national board to establish the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and was a faithful member and elder of Heritage Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Santa Maria. He was a member of the Santa Maria Elks Lodge for 38 years. John joined Arlington Heights Masonic Lodge in Ft. Worth, Texas, in 1949, later became a member of Hesperian Masonic Lodge, Santa Maria, and held a life membership in the Royal Arch, Kilburnie, Scotland, and in San Luis Obispo. In 2008, John was the Hiram Award recipient for his outstanding volunteer service.

 

John was a past president of the Santa Maria Shrine Club. He was deeply touched by the work of the Shriners Hospital for Children and was instrumental in procuring their services for several local children.

 

John and Sylvia loved to travel and made several trips to England and Europe after retirement. John was a born storyteller who loved to recount incidents and episodes from growing-up in Big Stone Gap, his years in the Air Force, and his life and everyday encounters in Santa Maria. John was especially proud of his 71 years of marriage to Sylvia and loved to share stories of their adventures together.

 

John never met a stranger. He was known for his friendly, positive, happy outlook on life. He enjoyed going out of his way to help others and, if he couldnt help a person in need, he would find someone who could. He enjoyed going places, being active, and visiting with people to the very end.

 

John is survived by his wife Sylvia; by his sister, Dorothy Argoe, Gate City, VA; and by his children and their spouses: Michael (Ashia) Stone, Bullhead City, Arizona; David (Diana) Stone, Highlands Ranch, Colorado; Mark Stones wife (Andrea), Santa Maria; Susan (Dan) Wheeler, Santa Maria. He is also survived by 15 grandchildren: Melissa, Tara, Aurang, Ashia Michele, Dawn, Devin, Derek, Darra, Danae, Darren, Taylor, Robbie, Emily, John Daniel (JD), and Jenna; by nine great grandchildren: Cal, Katelyn, Ben, Nico, Xander, Neil, Lucas, Zane, and Aubrey; by numerous nieces and nephews; and by Bill Slinger and Donna Wilson, who lived with the Stones for a time and remain a close part of the family. John is preceded in death by his son, Mark, and by his sister, Katheryne Hamill, and his brother, Guy Edward, Jr.

 

Services will be held at Heritage Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 4799 S Bradley Rd, Santa Maria, at 11:00 A.M. Monday, April 14.

 

The family requests that in lieu of flowers memorial donations be made to either Heritage Evangelical Presbyterian Church or Shriners Hospitals for Children (shrinershospitalsforchildren.org).

 

To leave a condolence for the family visit www.dudleyhoffmamortuary.com

 

Dudley-Hoffman

 

Mortuary & Crematory

 

(805) 922-8463

 

www.dudleyhoffmanmortuary.com

[milod]

Hmmmm...

 

I must run in some odd circles... Never had the idea there were no nukes in Europe. The Brits and French had 'em too, so far as I knew. No question there almost certainly was nuke artillery in "west" Germany, and likely elsewhere en route. Even some National Guard artillery units in the US in the late '60s, early '70s were nuke qualified.

 

Your uncle John, BTW, had an interesting life.

 

Were Masonic services scheduled?

 

m

[Californiaman]

No Milod, no Masonic sevices, even though he was highly regarden in Masoic cirlces.

Because he was a Mason, he was asked to Buckingham Palace once. He met the Queen of England and the Duke when he was younger.

As far as the nukes go... early on the official word was that we had none in England. It proved to be not true of course. The BBC once flew a film crew out to interview my uncle about the incident I spoke about.

He certainly lived a fantastic life. It was always a joy listening to his endless stories.