Howard Stone
October 21, 1944 - December 18, 2012
Howard Stone, 68, of Modesto, died peacefully at Alexander Cohen Hospice House on Tuesday after a battle with cancer. Howard was predeceased by the love of his life, Margaretta Stone, his parents S. Montague Stone, M.D. and Lee Stone and his brother Myron Stone. He is survived by his sister Elaine Iva Warsaw and niece Gail Levin, both of Los Angeles; niece Sharon Levin-Grabow, nephews Daniel Levin and Gregg Levin; and his long- time friends and caregivers, Karen Haugland of Hollister, Mike Nickless of Modesto and Michael O'Brien, DVM of Modesto.
Howard was born in New York City and was raised in Miami, Fla. where he was Bar MItzvahed at age 13. He moved to Arizona to attend Arizona State University and Law School. He spent most of his adult life in Thousand Oaks where he and his brother were in business as the Stone Brothers, selling high quality bronze and porcelain dog art.
In the late 60s he and his brother began showing Old English Sheepdogs and in 1972 as "Stonebroke Kennels", he began showing and breeding his beloved breed-the Sealyham Terrier. Howard bred Ch Stonebroke Right On The Money, aka "Ben Low" -the greatest American-bred Sealyham Terrier of all time, with 67 Best In Show wins, including prestigious wins at Westminster Kennel Club and Montgomery County Kennel Club. Howard served as the President of the Sealyham Terrier Club of So Cal and was a long time Board member of Great Western Terrier Association and Golden Valley Kennel Club.
Howard moved to Modesto in the late 1980's to marry Margaretta after meeting her when she came to purchase a Sealyham Terrier from him. In Modesto, Howard continued selling dog art and breeding and showing Sealyhams. He also joined Modesto Performing Arts where he sang and acted in the King and I, The Full Monty, Phantom. In fact, he was often asked to perform the National Anthem at the dog shows. He recently returned to the observance of his Jewish faith.
A funeral will be held Friday, December 21 at 10 a.m. at Salas Brothers Funeral Home. Graveside service to follow at Lakewood Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Howard's memory to Take the Lead, PO Box 6353 Watertown NY 13601 a non-profit organization providing services to participants in the sport of dogs, who suffer from terminal illness, or Congregation Beth Shalom, Modesto.
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Published in the Modesto Bee on December 20, 2012
