Elbert Stone

Elbert H. (Rocky) Stone, 85, of Gilberton died at Harrison Memorial Hospital on October 25, 2002 after a short illness. Rocky was born on February 14, 1917 to Elmer and Ruth Stone in Long Beach, California. During his childhood, he lived in Alaska, Washington DC, and California while his father served in the Navy. Rocky graduated from Long Beach High School in 1935, and attended the University of California-Berkeley. He came to Bremerton to join his parents and met Leah A. Grahn of Gilberton. They were married on October 16, 1940 and settled near the Grahn family home. Rocky and Leah were married 61 years, until her death in March 2002. Rocky worked at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard from 1940 to 1982 and retired as an electrical planner-estimator.One of Rocky's greatest pleasures and sources of pride was his family. He is survived by two sons, Jerry (Berta) of Olalla, and Tom (Lorie) of Port Orchard, and his daughter, Marylee Natkin (Gene) of Seattle; four grandchildren, Andy Stone (Tonya) of Port Orchard, Kendra Seaman (Shane) of Spokane; Michael Stone of Seattle, Richard Stone of Bremerton; three step-grandchildren, Marissa, Paul, and Mark Natkin of Seattle, and two great-grand children, Nathan and Sarah Stone. Other family members include nieces and nephews in the Puget Sound area. In addition to his wife, he is preceded in death by his parents of Bremerton, and his brother and sister-in-law, Talbert S. and Barbara Stone of Port Angeles, Washington.During his lifetime, Rocky remained a steadfast fan of the University of California-Berkeley football team. He enjoyed fishing, reading, and tinkering with machinery. Throughout his life, he had a great curiosity about the world around him, with a special interest in natural history, astonomy, ornithology and world war history. Rocky and Leah also enjoyed travel, including trips to Hawaii, Alaska and Scandinavia.A memorial service is scheduled at the Brownsville Methodist Church, Gilberton, on Saturday, November 16, 2002 at 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Brownsville United Methodist Church (8811 Illahee Road NE, Bremerton, WA 360-692-8266).