WN Stone

WN Stone, 84 of Mexia, passed away September 10, 2018 in Palestine, Texas. The Service will be 10:00am, Saturday, September 16, 2018 at First Baptist Church Mexia with Marcus Sheffield officiating. Interment will follow in the Point Enterprise Cemetery. Brett McGowan, Jim Bosley, Steve Yeldell, Todd Amick, David James and Larry Price will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be Sammy Mack, James Dawley, Edmund Schuster, Benny Lucas, Benji Reed and Bobby Reed. Visitation with the family will be 6:00pm - 8:00pm, Friday, at the Blair-Stubbs Funeral Home. WN was born November 25, 1933 in Odds, Tx to Shirley May Stone and Charlie Stone. He grew up on a farm, attended Big Hill elementary, eventually graduating from Groesbeck High School. He served two years in the Army and was stationed in Anchorage, Alaska where he said he fought the "cold war". After returning from his military service, he attended Abilene Christian College, afterwards transferring to Sam Houston State Teacher's College, where he earned a Master's degree in Biology. In 1960, while attending Sam Houston, he married the love of his life, Bernadette Barkouskie. After graduating from Sam Houston, WN's first teaching position was as a biology teacher in Mexia, where he would end up spending the rest of his teaching, administrative and bus driving career - a total of over 30 years. During the earliest of these years, he earned himself the name of "Doc Rock", which would stay with him through his entire career. Early on, he would drive the bus for all the away football and basketball games and ran the score board at all the home games for many years. For countless students, they will remember summer Driver's Ed with him. At certain times of the year there were no insects safe in the Mexia area due to his annual "bug collection". During his career, WN was able to influence the lives of many young men and women. While teaching at Mexia, WN reached back to his roots of farming and ranching, and during the late sixties and through the early seventies, had one of the largest registered Red Angus herds in the country. Then, in the mid-seventies, his efforts turned towards raising peaches. He was known for having some of the best peaches in Central Texas, drawing people from near and far to buy peaches at Stone's Fruit Stand. His love for farming and ranching ran deep, and he was involved with it until the end. WN was preceded in death by his parents, Charlie and Shirley Stone; his loving wife of 55 years Bernadette; infant daughter Mary Elizabeth; his brothers Charles Jr, Marshall and Jack Stone, and his sister Louise Ray. WN is survived by son Rusty Stone and wife Karen of Palestine; daughter Monette White and husband Wade of Teague; grandchildren Macy Lauren Stone, Katherine "Katie" Grace Stone, Rachel Elizabeth White, Brolen Alexander White, Chance Quentin White; and great-grandchild Aubrey Deann White. He is also survived by his brothers, G.Z. "Peaches" Stone and wife Patricia of Groesbeck, Billy Kyle Stone and wife Alta of Groesbeck, sisters, Maxine Smith and husband Travis of Abilene, Martha LeNoir of Groesbeck and sister-in-law, Martha Stone of Groesbeck. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Mexia Mini-Memorial Scholarship Fund, P. O. Box 534, Mexia, TX 76667 for WN Stone and/or WN & Bernadette Stone.

Visitation Details

Friday, September 14th, 2018 6:00pm - 8:00pm, Blair-Stubbs Funeral Home

Service Information

Saturday, September 15th, 2018 10:00am, First Baptist Church-Mexia

Interment Details

Point Enterprise Cemetery