Robert Stone

Robert Sidney Stone was born February 16, 1923 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin to Jeptha Carl Stone, and Katharine Livingston Smith. He passed away in Oak Ridge, Tennessee on September 22, 2019. He grew up in Evanston, Illinois, and graduated from Evanston Township High School where he developed a lifelong interest in photography and physics. He attended Cal Tech, and then served in the army during WWII. He was in the Army Specialized Training Program where he studied electrical engineering and received his radio and telephone license. He worked in the Signal Corps designing radio installations across Africa to help guide cargo planes across the continent. Part of this time he was in Cairo where he developed his interest in Egyptology. After the war, he returned to Cal Tech to finish his degree. In 1948, he arrived in Oak Ridge as a junior electrical engineer in the chemistry division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Shortly after arriving, he married Barbara Furstenberg. He went to Reactor School at Case Western Reserve in 1957. He then joined the Instruments and Controls Division and became a development engineer in reactor controls. He retired after 39 years, and he and Barbara traveled the world as long as they were able. Except for 6 months in Cleveland, OH, they spent their entire 65 years of married life in Oak Ridge until she died in 2014. He was a charter member of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, and enjoyed the Carbide Camera Club for many years. What most people remember about him was how funny and entertaining he was with stories and poems.
He is predeceased by his son Tom, his parents, brother John Stone, sister Betty Rima, and wife Barbara. He is survived by daughter Robin Stone and her husband, John Vanlandingham, Grandchildren Margie and Greg Hays, and Phillip and Jill Vanlandingham, and great grandchildren Meggie Hays and Pierson Vanlandingham. Several loved nieces, nephews, and in-laws. Special thanks to Sylvia, Cyndi, Jane, and Tara, who cared about him and for him for several years. He truly loved you all.
A memorial service will be held at 3:30 P.M.Thursday September 26, Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830. A reception will follow.
Donations in his name may be made to the charity of your choice doing non-judgmental good things for people or animals.