Kathy Lee Stone
Kathy Lee Stone passed away on July 19, 2016 at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane, Wash. Graveside services will be held Wednesday, Aug. 31 at 10 a.m. in the Grandview Cemetery in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.
Kathy was born Sept. 21, 1956 in Eureka, Calif. Early in her childhood, she moved to Oregon with her family, then moved again to De Queen, Ark. where she spent her teenage years. She moved to Tulsa, Okla. where she lived until she joined the U.S. Army Feb. 2, 1986. She did basic training in Fort Jackson, S.C. and her Advanced Individual Training in Fort Lee, Va. After AIT, she received orders to join the 109th Forward Support Battalion in Fort Lewis, Wash, where she worked in the supply depot at the Division Issue Point. While she was working at the 109th FSB, she met the love of her life, Staff Sgt. Dirk L. Stone.
She married Dirk March 23, 1987. They both continued to work at 109th FSB, Dirk at the Battalion Motor Pool and Kathy at the DIP until February 1988. They received orders to go to Germany, where they would be stationed for the next five years.
Kathy was assigned 228th Supply Company, Wilkins Barracks until April 1991 when she was honorably discharged from the Army. She continued to serve in the Army Reserves until Feb. 2, 1994.
She remained in Germany with her husband as an Army wife, supporting him on his deployment to Desert Storm and throughout his stay in Germany.
When Kathy’s husband received orders for Fort Bragg, N.C., she followed him there and supported him in the many exercises he participated in during his stay. Staff Sgt. Dirk Stone retired in August 1997.
In 2000, Kathy and her husband moved to Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Kathy worked for the Kootenai River Inn Casino and Spa for a short time. In 2001, she found work at the Boundary Community Hospital where she worked in the kitchen as a nutritionist aide and cook. Kathy also assisted her friend Lauren Bowlby and other friends, making special dinners for the residents each month. She considered this to be one of her greatest accomplishments while working at BCH, and her efforts were even written up in the local newspaper. Kathy remained working at BCH until September 2015.
For years, Kathy had been having problems with her heart and high blood pressure. Though these problems were under control, in February 2016, Kathy developed problems with her liver. On July 4, Kathy went to the emergency room at Bonner General Health and Hospital in Sandpoint for pain in her lower back and was airlifted to Deaconess Hospital in Spokane, Wash. for a blood clot in her right leg. While there, she had more severe complications with her liver. On July 18, after a procedure, she had a massive stroke, which ended her life the next morning, July 19.
Kathy is preceded in death by her mother Christine Price, her sister Kristy Smith Hosier, her mother-in-law Esther Stone, and father-in-law John Stone.
Kathy is survived by her husband Dirk Stone, her son Shawn Leach and his wife Kelsey, and four grandchildren, Hannah, Reagan, Lydia and Jack. She is also survived by her sister Karen Smith Vanhoose and brother-in-law Terry of Wright City, Okla., and brother Kirt Smith of Rogers, Ark.
Kathy L. Stone will always live in the hearts of her family and friends, who will remember her as a loving wife, mother and grandmother. She will never be forgotten.