Arroyo Grande District Cemetery

© The Bakersfield Californian
Sunday, 28 June 2009

Diane Stone
1943 ~ 2009

Diane Stone, 65, went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ after an 18 month long battle with brain cancer on Wednesday, June 24, 2009.

Diane was born to Douglas and Marjorie Dale in Norman, Oklahoma, in November 1943, where she lived as a newborn and toddler.

With the Army career of her father, her family moved to Texas, New York, and Minnesota living on military bases in each new location.

After her father retired, the family moved to Downey, Calif., where Diane spent the rest of her childhood and teenage years. She graduated from Downey High School in 1961 and was accepted to Cal Poly State University at San Luis Obispo. She excelled in her studies and majored in biological sciences and worked near Flagstaff, Arizona as a children's camp counselor during the summertime. She graduated from Cal Poly with honors in 1966, having earned a Bachelor of Science degree.

Unbeknownst to Diane (a long-time family joke), her parents had moved from Downey to Bakersfield, so Diane moved from San Luis Obispo to Bakersfield to be near her family.

She quickly earned a position as a laboratory technician at Hornkohl Laboratory.

As a new resident of Columbus Gardens apartment complex, Diane soon met a young, handsome, and talented lawyer named Bill Stone. Their entire courtship lasted just four months, and on April 8, 1967, they married. She steadfastly supported Bill throughout his 35 year career as an attorney and as a state judge on the municipal and superior courts in Bakersfield and the appeals court in Fresno.

She loved and raised their three boys unconditionally and was dedicated to providing them every opportunity for success, but she also had a passion for traveling, learning about new cultures, exploring God's wondrous creation, and exposing her family to the same - in short she was a great mom and wife.

She selflessly contributed to her church family and community.

In Bakersfield she served the Junior League for over 18 years, primarily in fund-raising, co-managed a catering business for several years with her friend, Jane Williams, and worked at Kern View Psychiatric Hospital (a non-profit organization) for over two years.

In Fresno, she supported Bill in the leadership of a community Bible study and served as a deaconess for the Evangelical Free Church of Fresno and as a discussion group leader for Bible Study Fellowship.

Not long after Bill's retirement, they moved from Fresno to Cayucos in early November 2005. Tragically, she was widowed on January 28, 2006, when Bill unexpectedly passed away.

She continued to love God, her boys, and her community on the Central Coast and enjoyed the world-class wine tasting at nearby vineyards.

Diane is survived by her three sons, Jim (Tamara) of Paso Robles, Jeff (May) of Zaragoza, Spain, and Mike (Dagney) of Cayucos; and two granddaughters, Marta (4) and Cristina (2) of Jeff.

A funeral service for Diane will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, June 29, 2009 at the Cayucos Cemetery, followed by a memorial service at Cayucos Community Church.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly asks that donations be made to the Diane Stone Memorial Fund for brain cancer research at the Norris Cancer Center, USC University Hospital at uscsom.convio.net/DianeStone, or checks made out to "Diane Stone Memorial Fund - Norris Cancer Center" and mailed to USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Office of Development, 1441 Eastlake Ave., Rm. 8302, Los Angeles, CA. 90033. Diane Stone 1943 - 2009