Dorothy F. Stone

STONE, Dorothy Freedman - Age 91, of Brentwood, TN and Southampton, NY, passed away on April 6, 2012. She was born May 13, 1920 in New York, NY and was the only daughter of Alan and Marie Freedman. An accomplished singer and pianist, Dorothy abandoned the opportunity for a Hollywood career choosing instead to pursue her passion for science. She obtained a BS in Biology and an MS in Chemistry from Adelphi University, and Ed.D from Teachers College of Columbia University where she was inducted into Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society for those in education. Dottie worked for Hazeltine Laboratories during the war where, rumor has it she was part of a team that developed, but did not think to commercialize, Silly Putty as a by-product of their research. Following the war, she returned to the classroom, this time as a dedicated high school biology and chemistry teacher at private schools on Long Island and in New York City. Seeking new challenges, she returned to school and obtained her BSN from Cornell University School of Nursing which she immediately put to use as an RN in the neonatal intensive care unit at Cornell Medical Center. Among her other career accomplishments, she was a certified cyto-technologist, participated in numerous research projects related to maternal and child health and co-authored a number of research papers. Growing up the sister to three brothers taught Dottie to face life head-on. She became a licensed pilot in 1940, and loved fishing, boating and gardening. Never forgetting her early talents, she was also a lifelong patron of opera, theater, music and the arts. A long time resident of New York City and Southampton, she moved to Brentwood in 2005 and was one of the first residents of the Heritage at Brentwood retirement community where she made many new friends who became enamored with her “feistiness.” Dorothy is survived by her brothers and sisters-in-law Buck and Pat Freedman of Atlanta, GA and Mick and Allene Freedman of Los Angeles, CA; her son and daughter-in-law Bob and Ariel Stone of Brentwood, TN; her grandchildren Jeremy Stone of Franklin, TN, Jessica Stone Woods of Charleston, SC, Shannon Stone Glover of Franklin, TN and Julian Agnew of Atlanta, GA. She was the adoring great-grandmother of five, aunt to 10 nieces and nephews, grand-aunt to 15 and great grand-aunt to 11. A memorial service will be held at Congregation Micah in Brentwood on Thursday, April 12 at 2:00 in the afternoon, followed by a celebration of her life at her son’s home in Brentwood. In accordance with her wishes, Dottie will be interred at sea so she can return to the environment she so loved. In lieu of flowers, the family requests the celebrants of her life make donations in her memory either the Adelphi College Alumnae Association or the Humane Society of the United States.