JoAnne Porubsky Stone

JoAnne Porubsky Stone, 77 years old, born June 29, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois. She passed away on January 18, 2022 in Elmhurst, Illinois with her children by her side. JoAnne lived in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Survived by her daughter Marlene Manning of Glen Ellyn, her son Paris Stone (Crystal) of Fayetteville, WV, her grandchildren Joanna Manning of Chicago, IL, Caitlin Manning of Glen Ellyn, IL, Connor Stone, Michah Stone, Lakota Stone, Dakota Stone, Miakota Stone - all of Fayetteville, WV, her brother, Thomas Porubsky of St. Charles, IL, and nephews and nieces.

She was predeceased by her brothers, Harry Porubsky, Jerry Porubsky, John Porubsky, and Richard Porubsky.

Named for her parents, John and Anna. She was born the 6th child of John Porubsky and Anna Fabian who both migrated from Czechoslovakia to the Chicago area in the 1920's.

She grew up in Chicago on North Lowell, which was mostly a Jewish community when she lived there .

She was awarded the American Heritage Award in 1977 from Morris Harvey College for her Family History/research paper detailing the story of her immigrant family's transition from Czechoslovakia to the United States.

She was the first in her family to earn a college degree.

She was married to Jennings Edward Stone from 1964-1971, moving to Charleston, West Virginia in 1965, then settled in St. Albans, West Virginia and worked full-time while also attending college. Her mother and brother Jerry moved to WV to help raise her children that same year. Jerry would pass away in 1973 of a major heart attack, then her mother had a stroke in January 1978. In June she moved her family back to Illinois at the risk of violating WV custody laws.

She purchased a home in Hanover Park, Illinois where her mother passed away only a month later.

She worked as a legal secretary at Hopkins & Sutter, then went on to be an executive, legal secretary at Sidley & Austin where she retired in 2014. She worked for various, senior partners at Sidley and enjoyed her career and colleagues.

My mother survived a difficult marriage, divorcing in a place/time that was not friendly to the idea of single mothers. She lifted herself and her family out of poverty, moving from WV to the suburbs of Chicago, at times working two jobs and many hours of overtime to make ends meet. She would take her children downtown on the weekends when she worked, and we would roam around the offices of the big corporate buildings, looking out over the city, always thinking it was an adventure. She survived breast cancer and took it upon herself to get healthy, losing 50+lbs by walking to the lakefront on her lunch break, eating healthier, and taking long walks with her beloved dogs (Zachary and Rugby). Her favorite vacation was a solo trip to go dog sledding. She loved to cook for her extended family and considered embarking on a culinary degree in retirement. She was devoted to her family and always put others first. She gave to many, many charity organizations from the local food pantry to a generous, long-term support of St. Peter's Church in Chicago.

My mother had a few stories to tell, a favorite being the time she had to feed the baby alligator that my paternal grandfather brought home to WV from Florida to keep the local kids away from his swimming pool.

She loved to travel to Europe, and especially enjoyed the British TV streaming. She was an avid reader of historical war materials, murder mystery, and romance novels.

She spent 2 days every Christmas season making the family recipe, the Kolacky.