Thomas Stoner

Thomas Edgar Stoner was born on August 17, 1943, to Kenneth J. (Butch) and Evelyn L. Stoner.  He had an older sister, Ardith Wirtjes.  Tom was raised in Shannon, went to Shannon High School, and graduated with the Class of 1961.  He married Evelyn M. Heeren in December 1965, and they had two children.  Tom spent nearly all his life in Shannon, then moved to Freeport in the more relaxing part of his life.

Tom started his career by driving trucks for Weston Colbert.  He worked with Jerry James at the Lanark Body Shop for several years, then owned and operated Shannon Auto Body.  In addition to managing his shop, he worked part time as a police officer in Shannon and Lanark for a few years.  He ultimately became the Chief of Police for Shannon, a position he enjoyed, and proudly worked to keep a safe and secure town.  He served in this official and honored profession for 27 years before retiring.  During retirement, he stayed active in law enforcement activities by serving as bailiff at the Carroll County Courthouse whenever needed.  He also enjoyed helping Wayne and Norman Byers, and Todd Randecker haul a bit of Illinois’ notorious corn harvest in the Fall.

Among many of Tom’s passions, and probably the most favorite, was barbequing.  Tom started out by designing and building his own cooker but as his passion grew, he upgraded to a professional (big guys) model.  He and his wife Evelyn enjoyed competing in numerous BBQ contests during the 1990’s (“Chief Cookers” go figure).  Together they won numerous awards, especially in the chicken and rib categories, with the highest honor of being invited to the American Royal.  He also helped Mike and Teresa Lake organize the annual Kansas City Barbeque Society-sponsored competition in Shannon.

Tom enjoyed keeping company with his many friends.  Usually, this was celebrated via the renown weekly gatherings at his house, known to most in town as the “garage”.  Practically like clockwork, he would expectantly spend his Friday afternoons opening and readying his garage for the anticipated arrival of his friends and their wives, where they hang out and casually talk about the weekly happenings.  In addition, there were the big Labor Day “dinners” after the parade that coincided with, and maybe even competed with, the festivities downtown.  Tom was also famous for making and sharing various soups during the winter for all friends and family members to enjoy.

Tom’s passing was preceded by his parents and brother in law Jim.  He is lovingly survived by his children, Sharon (Robert) Finlayson, Randy (Jenny) Stoner, and their mother Evelyn.  In addition, he was fortunate to be survived by eight wonderful grandchildren: Christopher Kammes, Benjamin (Lacey) Kammes, Jacob Stoner (Suzanna), Matthew Stoner, Nicholas Stoner, Megan (John) Lock, Samuel Gordon, Cole Gordon; sister Ardith; nieces, nephews and cousins.