Elvira Emma Stone

Elvira was preceded in death by her loving husband of 65 years Billy G. Stone and their granddaughter Jessica Knipping.

She is survived by their children Cynthia "Cyndee" Sinnett, Greg (Yolanda) Stone, Sandra Fleissner, Katrina (Jeff) Knipping, and Valerie Stone; 14 grandchildren; 22 great grandchildren; sister Loretta Ross; numerous nieces, nephews, family and friends.

Our mother was born in a small town in Missouri called Painton. She was the youngest, with three brothers and two sisters, born to Lawrence and Bertha Schoen. She grew up in Oran, Missouri, where she met her soulmate, Billy Gene, and always referred to him as “My Billy.” Together, they had 5 children: Cyndee, Greg, Sandra, Trina, and Val. When our father passed away in 1977, she was left to raise all of us, ranging in age from 3 to 16 years old.

Some of our favorite memories were listening to her talk about her childhood. She loved her family, and you could tell that family was of the utmost importance to her. She would tell us stories about picking cotton in the fields for money, earning only 3 cents per pound! In reality, her sister, Loretta, would always find her standing around talking to the other workers instead of picking cotton. They would sneak into the ballgames across the field from their house because they were poor, and just hoped that the men sitting at the entrance wouldn’t look their way. She and Loretta went to a concert in Shreveport, Louisiana, and saw Elvis Presley on the Louisiana Hayride. This was right before he made his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show! Our mother and her group of friends were called the “seven mischief makers”. Not because they ever did anything wrong; they simply got together on Sunday afternoons to hang out. All of them were poor kids who did not fit into other cliques, so they formed their own.

The most important thing our mother taught us was to have faith. She never wavered in her beliefs or her faith. After our father passed, the church became her home, a place of solace. She was a member of St. Columbkille since 1975. In that time, she touched so many people’s lives. Her two favorite ministries were making rosaries and prayer shawls. We can’t express how much yarn that woman has in bins!! Whenever you would call her and talk about a friend, co-worker, or family member who was having health issues or anything, she would show up with a prayer shawl. She would ask for their name and what they were suffering from, and add them to the prayer line. She believed in the power of prayer more than anyone we knew.

Our mother was truly a saint and will forever be remembered for her spicy yet delightful attitude!