Noah M. Stone

1971 - 2020

(News story) Noah M. Stone, president and a 21-year member of Holland Village Council who was the third generation of his family in public service to the village, died Sunday at University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio Hospital. He was 48.

Mr. Stone dealt with kidney disease for 28 years and received a kidney in 1993 from his brother, John, and years later from his sister Lori. In 2018, he received a kidney from his son, Noah.

Medication he took to keep his body from rejecting the donor kidneys suppressed his immune system, a concern especially during the pandemic. In August he developed a fungal injection that treatment couldn't tackle.

"We got blindsided. We were being so careful," his wife said. "For somebody who's been in and out of hospitals and had challenges to his health, he had the most positive and loving personality. He was always in good spirits. That's what made him special."

Mr. Stone, a lifelong village resident, was appointed to Holland council in September, 1999, to fill a vacancy. He won election and re-election thereafter, most recently to a four-year term in 2019.

His paternal grandfather, Joseph Stone, was elected mayor in 1959. His maternal grandfather, Donald Manley, served on council during Mayor Stone's tenure. Then his father, Jack Stone, succeeded Mr. Manley and was elected twice to council.

"I've always been fascinated by local government," Mr. Stone told The Blade in 1999. "When it's at its peak and working really well, it's amazing."

His brother, John, said: "He was proud to be able to do that. He cared, and he was honest, and he didn't have an ax to grind."

He also kept his ears open and brought community concerns to council, said Mayor Lee Irons, who taught Mr. Stone in middle school and coached him in high school.

"He was talented. He was good on his feet and explaining things to people," Mr. Irons said. "He was very low key, but at the same time, he was dedicated to what he was doing. He was a likable, dependable kid."

Born Nov. 7, 1971 to Donna and Jack Stone, he was a 1990 graduate of Springfield High School, where he was a kicker on the football team and took part in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.

He attended Ohio State University. He worked for years in marketing at Spring Meadows Extended Care Facility, which his father founded.

Closer to home, "he would coach his kids' soccer games and softball and baseball and basketball," his wife said. "He definitely put being a dad first."

He taught himself the banjo and sat in on occasion with the Cakewalkin' Jass Band and other traditional jazz groups. He was a member of Northern Light Lodge, F&AM.

Surviving are his wife, the former Ericka Fortner, whom he married May 3, 1997; son, Noah; daughter, Kiley Stone; sisters, Roxanne Stone-Warr, Lori Eckel, and Jodey Mac- Queen, and brother, John.

The family will receive guests Friday from 3-7 p.m. at the Maison-Dardenne-Walker Funeral Home, Mau- mee, with a Masonic service at 7 p.m. Funeral services Saturday will be private. The family suggests tributes to the Kidney Foundation of Northwest Ohio or the Springfield High School JROTC Program

This is a news story by Mark Zaborney. Contact him at mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182.