Lee Dan Stone III

Lee Dan Stone, III, was born on July 24, 1942 to Mr. and Mrs. Lee Dan Stone, Jr. and passed away on June 30, 2020 at Claiborne County Hospital. A lifelong resident of Claiborne County, Tennessee, he was commonly known by his friends and family as “Danny.”

Danny received his undergraduate degree from Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee and earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. He opened his law practice in 1971 in the historic stone building beside the Claiborne County Courthouse, and during his career moved offices only once – directly across the street where his practice is currently located. Through Danny’s forty-nine-year career as a practicing attorney, he handled a variety of criminal and civil cases in east Tennessee. Since 1971, he shared office space with several attorneys including Mike Robertson, Martha Yoakum, his son-in-law John D. McAfee, his son Wesley D. Stone, and Meredith Bundren. He enjoyed helping young attorneys begin their professional careers with his longtime friend and legal assistant Melissa House. Danny always lent a helping hand to those in need much in the same way that he appreciated the collegiality of friends, the late Judge Lee Asbury and the late Chancellor Billy Joe White.

Danny served his country in the Kentucky Army National Guard and the Tennessee Air National Guard. While he was unable to become a pilot within the military due to his color-blindness, he enjoyed telling many interesting and often comical stories of his time in service.

A lover of chance, Danny enjoyed playing a variety of gambling games, including poker. He often said that he paid his way through college by gambling. He took many trips to Indiana, Las Vegas, Tunica, and Cherokee with his friends and rarely returned empty-handed. While it remains somewhat of a mystery, he often shared a tale of getting his sergeant in the National Guard to help run a table.

Danny’s time in military service, inspired his live-long love of aviation, and in 1971, he earned his private pilot’s license. Over the years, he flew a variety of small engine planes. He enjoyed taking people on their first airplane ride and carefully explained the intricacies of flight to his passengers to help make them more comfortable and enjoy their first time in the air. He was very active with the Tazewell/New Tazewell Municipal Airport and enjoyed participating both in its development and evolution.

In addition to being a lover of the air, Danny loved the water – especially Norris Lake. Throughout his lifetime, Danny always owned a boat. He was an avid fisherman in his younger years and later turned to helping improve the Norris Lake recreational experience for others. He created a company known as Straight Creek Welding, and it was there where he helped rebuild most of Lakeview Boat Dock. The types and number of boats he owned were varied and countless, and he enjoyed spending his time on Norris Lake with his friends and family; he even built a houseboat on his own and took great pride in the workmanship of that vessel.

When not traveling by air or water, Danny’s love of exploration led him to begin traveling in recreational vehicles. He initially owned travel trailers and fifth-wheels but soon graduated to toy haulers and motor homes. He had a passion for going to and seeing places he had never been before and bringing back small treasures to his family and friends. Danny’s travels eventually led him to briefly pick up the hobby of panning for gold in rivers all throughout the south eastern United States – something he laughed about for years.

Danny’s love of minerals didn’t stop there. He also made a longtime run in the oil business with his partner, Stick Harmon. Together, Danny and Stick started “Sticks and Stones” – a small, shallow oil drilling business in western Kentucky. For years, the duo worked toward finding that special spot where oil would most likely be located. “Sticks and Stones” still yields black gold today.

There was not a piece of heavy equipment Danny could not operate – owning and operating numerous pieces of excavation equipment over the years. A project he had great pride in was constructing the house seat where he and his first wife built their home and raised their two children. From bulldozers to earth moving pans to farm tractors to four-wheelers and side-by-sides, Danny was always happy sitting atop some piece of equipment and building or making something. If he was “tinkering” and wearing his coveralls, he was happy!

Danny was also, at one time, heavily engaged in agriculture. He and his family raised beef cattle, burley tobacco, and hay. He and his son, with the help of his own father, Lee Dan Stone, Jr., also engaged in the production of sweet corn and cantaloupes. With baling wire and duct tape, Danny could fix almost any piece of equipment to get the day’s work done.

Danny was an active golfer. He enjoyed playing golf throughout the country and lived his last several years with his wife at Woodlake Golf Course. Woodlake was home to Danny and he enjoyed playing golf on an almost daily basis with anyone who had some time to spare. He also cherished the fellowship he shared with his friends and family at Woodlake’s clubhouse as he was a regular for Thursday night buffets.

Although not much of an athlete himself, Danny certainly enjoyed sports. His daughter Leigh Anne and his son Wesley both received collegiate athletic scholarships to play basketball and football as a direct result of Danny’s support and encouragement. He spent countless hours driving Leigh Anne to and from practices in Oak Ridge where she competed nationally on AAU Junior Olympics teams for the East Tennessee Stars. He also supported his son’s interest in football by taking him and other teammates to Florida where they attended a Quarterback and Receiver’s camp. In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Danny was also very involved in raising money for and helping construct a new locker room for the Claiborne County High School Lady Blue Devils basketball team and improvements to the R.O. Giles field.

Throughout his life, Danny was active in many community organizations in Claiborne County including the Chamber of Commerce, Jaycees, Claiborne County Hospital Board, Claiborne Healthcare Foundation, and the Lions Club. His most cherished service was his position on the board of directors of First Century Bank where he served until his death alongside his life-long friend Eleanor Yoakum and several other of his dearest friends. He took great pride in watching “the bank” grow and prosper. Danny also publicly served the City of Tazewell as a city councilman and was instrumental in the construction of the former Tazewell/New Tazewell Civic Center.

For most of his life, Danny was a member of the New Tazewell United Methodist Church and later joined the Tazewell United Methodist Church. In his final years, he became a member of Twin Cities Baptist Church where he was baptized. In the twilight of his life, he took time to share his testimony with many people, friends and strangers alike, and in almost every setting imaginable; from his office desk to the hospital cafeteria to the links at Woodlake, Danny wanted others to know about his relationship with Jesus Christ, his Lord and Savior.

By all accounts, Danny lived a very full and storied life. He is preceded in death by his parents, Lee Dan Stone, Jr. and Sadie Jean Stanifer Stone, and he is survived by his wife, Betty Runions Stone. Danny is also survived by his children, Chris Stone (and Amber), Leigh Anne Stone McAfee (and John), and Wesley Daniel Stone (and Suzanne); his grandchildren: Cody Johnson, Thomas McAfee, Loren Grace McAfee, Emma Stone, Abby Stone and Cooper Stone, all of whom he was most proud of for their achievements, perseverance, and character; and by his sisters, Sylvia Stone Duncan and Ann Stone Shipley and their families.

The Stone Family will depart Coffey Funeral Home at 10:45am on Thursday, July 2, 2020, and travel north on Broad Street, passing by the main branch of First Century Bank before turning onto Main Street so that Danny may pass his beloved law office and “run over” to the Claiborne County Courthouse one last time. All are invited to pay their respects by lining Main Street through downtown Tazewell. The family will hold a graveside service at 11am in the Irish Cemetery in Tazewell, TN where Danny will be laid to rest alongside his parents. The family requests that guests wear masks and maintain social distancing.

Grandsons Cody, Thomas, and Cooper along with nephews Samuel “Andy” Duncan, Adam Shipley, Jacob Shipley, and Ryan Shipley will serve as pallbearers. The family requests donations be made in Danny’s memory to the Alzheimer’s Association or East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. To donate, or for more information, go to alz.org or etch.com.