Edward Tomas Stone JR., passed away due to complications from cancer on Jan. 12, 2019. Ed was born in Cripple Creek, Colo. on Jan. 15, 1933 to Edward Tomas Sr. and Josephine “Happy” (nee Stein) Stone. His father and uncles primarily worked in the gold mines, and had many colorful times shared with from our Ed’s stories. The family moved to Denver in 1942 because his father, a skilled welder, wanted to help build Liberty Ships because, “We had to win the war.” It was in Denver that Ed met Ralph Vance, who became a life-long friend of the family’s and “Uncle Ralph” to his children. Ed and Ralph enlisted in the Air Force ROTC, and went to college together at CU-Boulder, with Ed majoring in accounting. Fortunately for the kids, Bonnie Gail Jorgensen, born in West Racine, decided to transfer from Rockford College in Illinois to CU-Boulder. Bonnie and Ed were married on June 19, 1955. Ed served as a navigator in the United States Air Force upon graduation, with time spent in Japan, the Philippines, and numerous USAF bases. He toured Iwo Jima about ten years after the epic battle, when signs of the fight were still clearly evident. Daughters Ann and Gwen were born on military bases, while Doug, Bill, and Meg were born after moving to Wisconsin. Edward T. Stone Jr. started his accounting career with Ernst & Ernst, before joining S.C. Johnson. He left corporate accounting and joined a private accounting firm in Racine for a few years before opening his own accounting business. While he always did accounting work seven days per week, during “accounting season” Ed would work pretty much nonstop, with his adding machine crunching numbers throughout most of the night. By far his favorite aspect of the accounting business was the interaction with his clients. He enjoyed talking with them, learning about their lives and businesses, and swapping stories. Ed enjoyed business, and started ventures in an indoor tennis facility, a car dealership, a real estate development, and finally a farm. His family never quite knew how someone who grew up in a Colorado mining town wanted to learn about Midwestern farming, but the kids were certainly glad when their Father and Mother purchased a farm in Waterford in 1970. The farm opened a whole new world for them, from animal husbandry and agronomy to unloading hay wagons and stone picking. Ed retired from the accounting business in 1990 and enjoyed a long and healthy retirement managing his farm. Somewhat humbling for the family, without a doubt the one aspect of his life of which he was most proud was his family. “We are eternally grateful to have had such an exceptional man to be our father and to provide us with such a great example of how to best live our lives.”
Ed is survived by his loving wife Bonnie; five children, Ann Stone (Tim) Page, Gwen Stone (Mark) Borchardt, Doug (Kris Vick) Stone, Bill (Megan Williams) Stone, and Meg Stone (Steve) Perkins; along with 13 grandchildren, other relatives and friends.
A Memorial Gathering will take place on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019 in the Plantation Room at the Cotton Exchange Banquet Hall, 345 Hickory Hollow Road, Waterford from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Services with family eulogy will begin at 1 p.m.
Our father loved to take canoe trips to the boundary waters, especially to Quetico Provincial Park. In lieu of floral expressions of sympathy, memorials are suggested to: “Friends of Quetico” P.O. Box 29127 Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada P7B 6P9 in memory of our father.
Our thanks to the loving care keepers at Linden Grove and Linden Court of Mukwonago, where Dad lived the past few months.
Mealy Funeral Home is serving the family Well-wishers may visit www.mealyfuneralhome.com.
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