Goodbye to my Cousin Jack

Saying goodbye to another of the Stone Clan. Today would have been his 74th birthday.

My cousin, Jack, passed away this past Saturday. He has been in poor health with a very rare degenerative condition for the past several years but his death was a real surprise. Jack's real name was Delmer Durwood Stone and he was born on July 18, 1937. He was the oldest son of my Uncle Delmer, my Dad's older brother. Both Jack and his brother, Jerry, were from Uncle Delmer's first marriage, which did not last very long. Soon after Delmer divorced he met and married Aunt Fay in 1942. She took in his boys and raised them as her own. A couple of years into the marriage a third son, Jim, was born.

Jack was one of five cousins that were born within five months of each other. They were always referred to as "The Filthy Five". Jack was the oldest of the five and my brother, Bill, was the youngest. This year represents their 74th birthdays. In this picture are all five: Bill Stone, Yvonne Hunt, Gene Smith, Theda Wilson and Jack Stone. Over the years the Stone clan became a very large family and even though there were a three older cousins The Filthy Five were pretty much the leaders. When this large family gathered for holidays and other occasions this band of five took on the challenge of keeping all the rest of the cousins in line.

Jack grew up in the south side of Oklahoma City and graduated from Capitol Hill High School. He earned a degree in journalism from Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma, in 1959. That same year he married Peggy. Together they raised three children, two boys and a girl. Jack spent most of his adult life working in journalism, mostly for the Anadarko Daily News in Anadarko, Oklahoma. He retired as executive editor for that paper in 1996. In retirement he loved to spend time fishing or drinking coffee with his friends at Indian City Lanes bowling alley in Anadarko.

The below pictures were taken at the Stone Family Reunion in the summer of 2007. The one on the left is of Peggy and Jack. The one on the right is Jack, seated, with his brothers Jerry and Jim.












Due to his career in journalism, Jack touched many peoples lives over the years. He also was very active in his church, First Baptist Church, Anadarko, where he was a Deacon and taught Sunday School. He was a major part of the Stone family and will be sorely missed by all who knew him.