Kathleen Stone

6/7/1944 — 1/30/2021

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Kathleen “Kay” June Stone died of complications of dementia on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2021, at her home in Lewiston.

She was born June 7, 1944, the 14th of 16 children to Frank and Catherine (Maruschak) Shufran at the family home in Philipsburg, Pa., the day after D-Day. Frank, who worked as a coal miner, immigrated from what is now Ukraine in 1913 at age 19. Catherine’s family were recent immigrants as well.

Kay went to school in Philipsburg, graduating high school in 1962. She was a certified Red Cross lifeguard, a job she enjoyed during the summers. She attended Indiana University in Indiana, Pa., Elmira College in Elmira, N.Y., Mansfield University in Mansfield, Pa., and the University of Idaho. She earned a bachelor’s degree in art and a master’s degree in counseling and human services.

Various jobs took her to Penn State University, Washington, D.C., St. Petersburg, Fla., and Painted Post, N.Y., where she was a draftswoman at Ingersol Rand World Headquarters. She taught art at Hammondsport, N.Y., Middle School, then in 1971 took a position as assistant director of the Upward Bound program at Mansfield University. There she met and fell in love with Richard Stone, who was working for her as a math teacher. They were married in 1972. That same year she became the vocational education coordinator for a four-county area in north central Pennsylvania.

In 1974, Kay and Richard moved to a cabin on Lake Chatcolet in northern Idaho. Their daughter Mary was born in September. The following year, they moved to St. Maries, where Richard was employed by Potlatch Corp. In 1979, their second daughter, Sarah, was born. Kay never ceased to be awed by her children. Their lives were enriched by a succession of well-loved dogs, years of 4-H activities and sailing on Lake Coeur d’Alene in the family’s beloved Venture 21 sailboat, the source of some of their most treasured memories. Kay led a bread baking 4-H group, passing on a lifelong skill to her daughters and their friends and she supported the girls through dozens of projects, including a long list of animals including rabbits, pigs, horses and a chicken, to name a few.

The family traveled regularly to Pennsylvania so the girls could grow up knowing their large extended family. Kay’s love for her siblings, nieces and nephews was clear, despite the geographic distance. Those trips and others, including to California and British Columbia, were one of the many ways Kay and Richard shared their appreciation for and curiosity about the world with their daughters.

Kay served on the St. Maries School Board, the library board and was a member of the local chapter of the American Association of University Women. She returned to school when her daughters were young children, earning her master’s degree in counseling by commuting to classes in Moscow and Coeur d’Alene in a time before online learning. She worked as the St. Maries Middle School counselor until, after 20 years in St. Maries, the family moved to Peck when Richard took a job at Potlatch’s Jaype plywood mill near Pierce. Kay was a counselor at Weippe and Pierce elementary schools and later at Orofino Elementary, where she worked until she retired in 2006. She was appreciated for her role as a leader with the Orofino School District’s grief and crisis team, and she was grateful to contribute.

Kay loved children and art, especially children’s art. She used her artistic talents in her counseling with children and was especially proud of her many creative, handmade bulletin board displays at Orofino Elementary. She designed an addition to the house in Peck and furnished and decorated every room with love and talent.

Having grown up in a Russian Orthodox family, Kay sought an Orthodox church after moving to the West, and she, Richard and the girls were active members of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Spokane while they lived in St. Maries. Countless Sundays were spent in Spokane for Divine Liturgy, often followed by lunch downtown, a visit to Riverfront Park, or a performance at the opera house or a Spokane Children’s Theater production.

Kay was preceded in death by her parents; sisters Mary Raymond, Pauline, Paula and Judy Shufran; brothers Stephen and John; and grandsons Charles and Daniel Shively.

She is survived by brothers Andy, of Erie, Pa., Frank (Joan), of Hobart, Ind., Donald (Barbara), of Bradford, Pa., Alexander (Mary), of Cleveland, Kenneth (Georgie), of Clifford, Va., and Gregory (Jennifer), of Philipsburg; sisters Barbara, of Philipsburg, Madeline (George) Mehallow, of Syracuse, N.Y., Patricia Sudik, of Niles, Ohio, and Verone Hill, of Philipsburg; husband Richard, of Lewiston; daughters, Mary Stone and Sarah (Mike) Chapman, of Lewiston; grandsons James (Susan) Shively, of Moyie Springs, Idaho, Aaron Shively, of Lewiston, Jake and Josh Tatko, of Lewiston; and granddaughter Clara Chapman, of Lewiston; as well as nephews and nieces too numerous to mention.

Thank you to Dr. McIntosh and Karen, Dr. Soloniuk, Advanced Care Hospice and their wonderful team, and to Open Arms Home Care. They are special people. Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org or to the Willow Center for Grieving Children in Lewiston at willow-center.org.

For those who knew and for those who did not: Kay fought a heroic battle with mental illness. She was institutionalized three times fighting through psychosis, and she felt blessed by her recovery and stronger because of it. She never expected nor did she get an easy life. In spite of this, or maybe because of it, she had an amazing sense of humor. Especially in her counseling, she very seldom gave anyone advice but wanted them to see the “path” for themselves. She did have a kind of mantra to offer: “Take care of yourself. Take care of each other. Take care of this place.”

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