Obituaries

Spencer Decker Stone, Sr., a patron of the arts with a mischievous streak, passed away peacefully on October 30. He was 87 and proudly lived his entire life in Toledo.

A few years ago, his family compiled a list of “things we love about Dad.” They included sentimental items: “He is always the first person who calls, visits, or helps in times of crisis or sadness when other people don’t know what to say or do” and “He remembers everyone’s name, is grateful and gracious, kind, witty, and funny, and takes care of all the people around him.”

Many colorful ones made the list: “He actually makes a beard and a pinky ring look dashing and distinguished. He is alarmingly good at driving a Cadillac backwards. He will destroy you at gin rummy or Scrabble. He somehow thrives on pickled herring, borscht, and buttermilk. He has been known to tell people to ‘keep in touch with themselves.’ And there are no rules he isn’t eager to break.” At social events he loved to hand out business cards that read: “Spencer Stone apologizes for anything he may say or do later this evening.” The cards frequently came in handy. Wherever he went he was the life of the party.

Reflecting on his life, Spencer once said: “I am deeply grateful for the life that God has given me. My blessings have been many, and they have provided me with every possible opportunity to learn and to live a full and happy life. The very best part of my life has been finding my wife, Prudy, who has been an unfailing source of support and strength to me, and having our three extraordinary and talented children.”

From early on, Spencer was surrounded by art. His father, Ruskin Stone, was a noted Toledo artist, whose portraits and landscapes hang in museums and institutions in the U.S. and in England. Spencer became a passionate and knowledgeable collector of vintage photography and, over many decades, amassed a remarkable collection of original images from nineteenth- and twentieth-century masters.

The older son of Ellen Marie Decker Stone and Ruskin Beechler Stone, Spencer Decker Stone was born on January 23, 1937, in Toledo. As a child, he lived in the Old West End, where he attended Glenwood School. While he was in early grade school, his family (along with their pet monkey) moved to Ottawa Hills, where he became part of the storied high school graduating Class of 1955. His class was small, innovative, and fearless, and many of his classmates became his closest lifelong friends.

He attended The Ohio State University and the University of Toledo. After college, he enlisted in the Ohio National Guard, taking basic training at Fort Knox and advanced basic training at Fort Sam Houston. He enrolled in the U.S. Army Officers’ Candidate School, trained at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, and left military service as a commissioned officer.

Spencer began his professional career with Rad-Mar Press, a Toledo-based commercial printing company, and rose to become vice president. Eventually he started his own company and began to acquire typesetting, printing, and publishing businesses in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. He purchased several special-interest publications and was an investor in telecom ventures. Spencer was a volunteer on a number of community committees and boards. He was president of the Advertising Club of Toledo; president of the Toledo Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, and president of the St. Ursula Academy Parents’ Council.

An avid golfer, Spencer collaborated with his friend Allen Saunders to publish Golf Is a Funny Game (The Way Most of Us Play It), a compilation of “the world’s best jokes about the world’s most maddening game.” In addition to golf, Spencer enjoyed playing squash, tennis, and platform tennis and was a member of both the Inverness Club and of the Toledo Club for more than 60 years. Spencer was happy hunting and fishing and was ecstatic to have flown three times aboard the Goodyear Blimp.

An enthusiastic traveler, Spencer loved to be on a boat. Some of his favorite trips included passing through the Panama Canal on a friend’s yacht; exploring the Baltics by water; sailing with friends through the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas, and cruising on the Mediterranean from Barcelona to Monaco. He relished meeting people from different backgrounds, religions, and nationalities; many became friends for life.

Spencer is survived by his wife of 56 years, Prudence White Stone; his son, Spencer D. Stone, Jr., his wife, Christine Contardi Stone, and their daughters, Sophia and Sarah; his son, George W. Stone and his husband, Christopher Farmer, of Washington, D.C. and Asheville, NC; and his daughter, Robin Hayward Stone of Toledo. He was a devoted and fun-spirited honorary dad to his beloved "adopted sons" Andrew J. Bernstein of Livingston, New Jersey, Aslan Kamali of San Diego, California, and Eliot Wajskol, of Portland, Oregon. Also surviving are his brother, Douglas Stone, his wife, Karen Gradel Stone; their children Stephen Stone and his sons, Hayden and Brady of Tiffin, Ohio; Michael Stone; and Anne Stone Browning and her husband, Eric, and their daughters, Ellie, Ashley, and Rachel, of Dublin, Ohio. Spencer was predeceased by Scottish terriers MacIntosh, MacGregor, and Abercrombie.

The Stone family extends gratitude to the staff at Kingston, especially Ahmani Jenkins, and the services of Hospice of Northwest Ohio for their exceptional care. We invite those wishing to make a contribution in Spencer’s honor to consider the Toledo Museum of Art and the Toledo Symphony. A celebration of life will take place at the Inverness Club on November 16 from 2–5pm, with joyful remarks at 3pm. After all, Spencer could never resist an open mic.

His arrangements were entrusted to Walker Funeral Home, Toledo. Online condolences are welcome at walkerfuneralhomes.com.