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Stone, Gary Vance

May 14, 1936 –
 April 7, 2020

Obituary

Gary Vance Stone, age 83, of Dallas, died on April 7, 2020 at Medical City Dallas Hospital, Dallas Texas, after many years of living with cancer. He dealt with each illness and hospitalization calmly, without complaint and with extraordinary patience and dignity. Gary is survived by his wife of 37 years, Lori (Dolores) Rondeau Stone, children Sharalynn and Gary Sullivan, Jon and Nicolette Swift, Lisa and Michael Grieco and grandchildren Matthew, Rachel and Benjamin Grieco and great grandson Gabriel Sierra and siblings Ronald, Janet and Barbara Stone. He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother. He was born in Lockhart, Texas on May 14, 1936 and grew up in that area. After graduating from Texas State University in San Marcos, TX in 1959, he taught English and Journalism, edited several Texas newspapers, the Daily Oklahoman and the Albuquerque Journal, served in the army, and graduated from University of New Mexico in 1971 with a Juris Doctorate from the school of Law. He practiced criminal law and was a prosecutor in the DAs office in Albuquerque. After returning to Texas in 1981, he practiced family law in Tarrant and Dallas County. He married Lori in 1983. After retiring from Law in 1990, Gary completed the Master Gardener program in Dallas and served as a Dallas County Master Gardener for over 20 years. As a passionate environmentalist and steward of our land, he became a beekeeper and, as he did with all his interests, he researched and read voraciously on all things apian. He was a member of the Trinity Valley Beekeepers Association and participated in several bee blogs. An avid reader, he belonged to the Elizabeth Thompson Literary Club and for the past 15 years, Gary practiced Tai Chi with a YMCA group and with the Chen Ming martial arts school in Plano. Gary was a loving and supportive husband, a proud and caring son, father and brother and a kind, intelligent, and honest friend. Family and friends sought his wise advice and thoughtful wisdom and he was generous with his time. He loved to cook, especially spicy dishes and enjoyed baking breads. He started repairing motorcycles and flying small aircraft in his early teens, and worked on newspapers for 20 years from typesetting, writing, photography and editorials. He was a true Renaissance man. He was a warrior and fought until the very end of his life and he has left a tremendous void. The family would like to thank Dr. John Mathews, his nurse Amanda, Tiffany Craig, PT, and Dr. E. Paul Kaplan, who all provided care which improved his quality of life and made his last months bearable.

Due to the COVID pandemic, no service will be held at this time. When family and friends can safely come together, we will plan a celebration of Gary’s life.

________________________________________________________ A Signature Service under the direction of: Aria Cremation Service & Funeral Home 10116 E. Northwest Highway Dallas, Texas 75238 214-340-8008

    Nicolette
    22 Apr 2020
    4:32pm

    Gary was a wonderful, kind, loving man and I feel so grateful and lucky to have had him in my life, which was made brighter by his wit and wisdom, his patience, his generosity. He will be deeply missed and live in our hearts always.

    Jon Swift Jr.
    22 Apr 2020
    4:43pm

    I will always remember Gary’s dry sense of humor, tremendous knowledge, wisdom, and kindness. He was a wonderful and caring husband to my Mother and I am thankful for all of the great years they had together. I will miss our discussions and his sage advice. He will be missed by all of us.

    Julie McKinney Bown
    26 Apr 2020
    10:52am

    Hi Lori,
    I am so sorry for your loss. As you know, Gary and I were friends in the Dallas County Master Gardener program for many years. He was so happy when you had time to become a Master Gardener as well. My sincere condolences. Julie

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The Peterson FamilyYelp! Review - Northwest Highway 5-Stars
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"I can’t say enough about how helpful and professional Dusty Martin, the funeral director at the Aria Cremation location on NW Highway has been. From my initial call, he was kind and informative. My friend died at home while on hospice and she was picked up in about an hour after receiving the call from the hospice nurse. The person who arrived to pick her up was also very professional/respectful and allowed us to take as much time with her as we wished. When I met with Dusty the next day about arrangements, he explained the process and options available without being pushy or trying to “sell” extras. Throughout the process, he kept me informed and, for example, was careful to be certain I understood the cost of the obituary I wanted and offered some options for reducing that cost if I wished. When I stopped by for another reason and started talking about some of the problems I was having with the pictures and media I hoped to use at a memorial lunch I was planning, he not only listened patiently but offered technology advice and let me use his personal media player. I have had experience arranging cremations for four others using two other local companies, and this experience with Dusty at Aria has been by far the best one I have had."
Paula Barnes
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"My Daddy’s service and our family experience at Aria Northwest Highway was truly blessed. Funeral Director Dustin Martin is the kind of person that you would like to see on a more regular basis – but in his industry – you hope to not see him that often. That being said – THANK YOU DUSTIN for your unending kindness, compassion and friendship through the process. Meeting you and discussing Dallas History, Find A Grave and my Dad’s lifelong contributions to the great City of Dallas was simply wonderful! In memory of my dad James A. Dodd, Sr. – I want to personally thank you and let you know that you made everything better in that moment. Your calling to “Be There” is spot on. Aria has a one in a million guy in you! Bling Blinky of TEXAS Shout Out: God Bless You!!"
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