Bernard Francis Stone, Bernie, or Bun died suddenly on Monday, June 10, at Windemere at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. He was 89.
To all who knew him, he will be remembered as larger than life in every sense of the word. A gregarious man who loved to laugh, he made those he met feel like they were the most interesting person in the world. An avid gardener, sharp crossword player, expert whistler, gifted dancer, and an okay poet, he lived life to its fullest. He felt blessed to be in such great care at Windemere where all the female staff were, “the most beautiful women in the world.” And they treated him like a King.
Born in Richford, Vermont, to Robert Hazen and Grace Carey Stone, he was the youngest of four children. Living on a farm amongst the Green Mountains of Vermont, he had an ideal childhood. He became a competitive downhill ski racer as a teen which led him to serve as a ski trooper in the elite 110th mountain division in WW II. He later attended Northeastern University, where he received his degree in engineering.
He worked in various capacities as a civil engineer. He worked next to Igor Sikorsky building helicopters in Bridgeport, Conn.; he became the town engineer in Wethersfield, Conn.; he eventually started his own business, Bernard F. Stone and Associates, in Salem Conn.
He married his boss’s daughter, Charlotte Mary Judd, during the construction of the Union Village Dam in Vermont in 1948. They had three children — John Carey, Charles Edward, and Sandra Lee Stone. He was pre-deceased by his wife, Charlotte, his son John, his sisters Carol Clark and Shirley Palone, and his brother Bill Stone. He is survived by his son Charles Stone of Kansas City and his daughter, Sandra Stone-Benjamin, son-in-law Michael Benjamin, and grandchildren Charlotte and Sam Benjamin of Edgartown.
