William Otto Stone

William Otto Stone, known to many as Bill, was born to Robert and Billie Stone in Augusta, GA on May 31, 1946. Bill's dad died early in his life, and Bill was raised by his mother and other extended family in N. Augusta, SC. As a young man, he enjoyed playing football and running track. Bill was drafted into the Army after graduating from high school; he served in Vietnam and Cambodia during the Vietnam War. After leaving the military, Bill began a 30 year career with AT&T as a service technician. His career and family brought him to Louisiana where he soon met the love of his life and the mother of his children, Patti. Bill and Patti did not meet in the most traditional way; Patti accidentally sat on the hood of his new Blazer at a picnic in Baton Rouge. Bill was not happy, but they soon moved past that and were able to form a bond that would stand the test of time. They married in 1980 in Baton Rouge and not long after that their most wonderful gift to the world, Rebecca, was born. Their life was complete, but in 1984 another little girl named Margaret joined the family. They raised their girls in Baton Rouge until a transfer with AT&T in 1986 moved the family to Shreveport, LA. In 1987 there was a surprise and Christopher was born. The family lived in Haughton, LA while the children went to school, participated in activities and were raised in church. Over the years they took several family vacations including the longest car trips in the history of the universe to go snow skiing in New Mexico and Colorado.

In 1997, Bill was involved in a car accident that nearly took his life. He was in a coma for 10 days and in the hospital for many months. He suffered a brain injury and had little to no short term memory afterwards. Bill was able to recover to have a functioning life. In 2000, the family moved to Austin, TX when Patti took a new position with Cisco Systems. Bill was able to adapt to the new life in Austin and continue to have a good life. As the years went by, Bill got to see all 3 of this children become successful, get married and give him 3 granddaughters. Rebecca married and lived in Okinawa, Japan for a while with her husband Shane; then had two daughters, Addison and Harper. Margaret married Josh, and having developed a desire to work in the medical field through Bill's injuries, is now studying to become a nurse practioner. She has a lovely daughter, Emma. Christopher married Ashley and has pursued a career in different areas of computer science. At one time, Christopher even worked for AT&T as a service technician just as his dad did.

In recent years, Bill's health took a down turn. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease possibly as a result of being exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. He broke both femurs falling over the railing at a Spurs game, and broke his hip several months later. Patti cared for Bill in the years since his accident in 1997 and became his full time caregiver after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's. Bill eventually moved to a nursing home in late 2013 when Patti could no longer care for him. He lived a wonderful life. He was a loving, hard-working man with a wonderful sense of humor. Above all he loved God and his family. There wasn't anything that he wouldn't have done for his family. He died in his sleep on Jan. 21, 2014. He is no longer in pain from his illness and is dancing in heaven.

Bill is survived by his mother Billie, his wife Patti, his daughter Rebecca (Shane) Coffman, his daughter Maggie (Josh) Martin, and his son Chris (Ashley) Stone. His three lovely granddaughters are Addison and Harper Coffman and Emma Martin.

On behalf of the family, we ask that donations be made to the Capital Area Parkinson's support group or to Shoreline Church. We sincerely appreciate the outpouring of support that we have seen in this difficult time and, while we will miss Bill dearly, we know that he is in a better place waiting for us to join him.