Obituary of David Ray Stone

David Ray Stone grew up on Pineview Drive in Morgantown, his boyhood home bore the same address as the current Holiday Inn. He was born in 1952, the son of Sherley Ray Stone and Marian White Stone. He graduated from Morgantown High School in 1970, the same year he met his wife of 48 years, Janet Lynn Perilli. He would also graduate from West Virginia University with a degree in Parks and Recreation. That education foreshadowed a career with BOPARC, where he ran sports leagues and camps, including the Grasshopper youth basketball league, in which he coached hundreds of youth players. He remembered almost all of them by name throughout his life. He would later go on to work for Georgia Pacific, selling Dixie products until his retirement. But his career was just one part of his life. An extrovert through and through, his enjoyment always came from those around him, his hobbies, and his many, many friendships. In the 1980s, Dave took up golf. On April 8, 1990, Dave unexpectedly joined the Pines Country Club when a friend, frustrated that he needed to be a member to play, threw a credit card on the pro shop counter and said, “give me three memberships.” A few years later, Dave would be elected President of the club. He remained a member for the rest of his life. In the 1990s, Dave started the Morgantown High Alumni Golf Tournament. In the 25 years since, the tournament he founded has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Morgantown High athletics. In 2012, Dave and a group of friends opened The Wine Bar at Vintner Valley. Their goal was simply a place for themselves and their friends to eat and enjoy some wine. Before the group sold it, Dave was a fixture at the Wine Bar on Friday nights. In 2017, he was diagnosed with colon cancer, stage IV. After that diagnosis, Dave lived a life most would be lucky to have. He did not just survive three rounds of chemotherapy over the following six years, he thrived. He enjoyed golf trips to Ireland and Pinehurst, vacations to Italy and Napa Valley—more wine—and dozens of other trips with his friends and family, including one to Charleston, South Carolina, for his son’s wedding. He and his family attribute this quality of life to the outstanding care given by the team at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center. Dave and his entire family are forever grateful for the care and compassion for those who treated him: Dr. Sobha Kurian and the team at MBRCC, Walt, Chris, Brittany, Whitney, Liz, Ari, Carolyn, Allison, Kathy, Emily, Jessie, and too many others to name, but whose work and thoughtfulness is equally appreciated, and the physicians and nurses at Mon Health Medical Center, Dr. Kristen Statler, Dr. Mark Johnson, and all those who provided him such outstanding care. Dave is survived by his wife Janet, son David Ray Stone II, daughter-in-law Laura Davis Stone, sister Marian Rebecca Garrett and her husband Harold “Buddy” Garrett, the Garrett’s children Christopher and Megan, Megan’s husband Morgan, and Dave’s brother Donald Edward Stone, and brother-in-law Gerben Hoekstra, and his son Matthew. He is preceded in death by his mother and father, and his sister Patricia Kathaleen Hoekstra. Friends and family will be received at the Erickson Alumni Center, 1 Alumni Drive, Morgantown, on Friday, August 11th from 1:00 PM until the time of the funeral service at 3:00 PM with Pastor Junius Lewis officiating. A reception will take place immediately following the ceremony. Private family interment will take place at East Oak Grove Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the WVU Cancer Institute, 1 Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506 to support the incredible nursing staff. Contributions can be made online at http://give.wvu.edu/wvucancerinstitute or by sending a check to the WVU Foundation, PO Box 1650, Morgantown, WV 26507. Please include the fund number 2v123, and reference Dave Stone. Hastings Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements and online condolences may be made at www.hastingsfuneralhome.com.