Earl L. Stone
December 7, 1923 - October 11, 2009
Obituary
EARL L. STONE ROCKY
Was 85, born December 7, 1923 in Centralia, WA. Passed away peacefully October 11, 2009 at 8:26pm with His wife, Daughter and youngest Granddaughter holding his hand. Earl was a Beloved Husband for over 65 years of Billie Mary Meyer. One of Earl’s favorite stories is telling people that he slept with his wife before they married, for shock value, as their parents played cards together and they were often put in the same crib to play and take a nap long before they married in 1944. Earl was the PROUD father of William Stone, and Sharon Murphy. He was the Grandfather of Ed and Paulette Stone, as well as Shannon Spear. He was the Step-Grandfather of Brenda Moulton, Sean Murphy, and Wendy Meadows. The great-grandfather of Gabriel Spear, Ryan Stone, and Ayden Spear, The Step-great grandfather to Ashleigh, Alexander, Ryley, Sean Thomas, and Hannah. Unfortunately he is the last of his own siblings but he is survived by his wife’s little sister Janet who was like his own and her husband Robert. Earl is also survived by several cousins, nieces, nephews, and so many friends it would take up the whole paper. Earl could make friends where ever he went. Dec. 7th 1941 he enlisted in the navy, May 8th 1942 he had been on the USS Lexington for Approx. 1 month when at the end of the Battle of the Coral Sea the Lexington was sunk. He was rescued and went on to campaigns that would include Africa. After the Navy he did many jobs here and there, but his main employment was the 30 years he put in with the Boeing Company as an Inspector on the Seattle Flight line. When attempting to get his son to enlist in the Navy in the 1960’s He enlisted in the reserves where he rose to the rank of Chief. In the Early 80’s he retired from both the Navy reserves and The Boeing Company, leaving him and Billie free to travel the United States in one of their many motor homes they would own over the years. For 20years they would take whatever motor home they had at the time and they would travel the country for 3-5 months of the year. In the later years they stopped traveling, but kept their last motor home at their Daughters house and would spend several weeks at a time there gardening and puttering around in the yard. Earl had a smile and a sense of humor that was just contagious, and he was loved and will be missed very much. A viewing was held, Friday, October 16, 2009, followed by the entombment service with military honor’s at Bonney Watson Washington Memorial Funeral Home, for close friends and family. In lieu of flowers remembrances are suggested to the American Lung Association, for COPD research.
Our family will, as always , pull together in these times of grief but the the memories will be of much better times, a little bit further in the past.
I will miss you grandpa and it was an honor to hold your hand at the end…I love you
shanybug