Gregory Stone

Gregory Stone, renown painter and sculptor, passed away on Thursday, Sept 29, 2016 at his residence in Hatfield. Born in Gardner on April 5, 1947, he was the son of Charles “Chuck” Stone and Dorothy Stewart Stone. Greg is survived by his brother Charles “Rocky” Stone Jr. and his wife Leanne of Orange; his special friend Barbara Bowen of Northfield; his niece Jessica Stone and her husband Daniel McGuire and their children Brigitte and Liam of Stamford, CT; his niece Meghan Stone and her husband Naim Mayer of South Hadley and their children Connor and Owen; his aunt Marguerite Donnelly of Leominster; his aunt Cynthia Trinque and her husband Ronald Trinque of East Bridgewater, many cousins and former students. The Stone family would also like to recognize Anthony Aguda and Mickey Boisvert for the influential role that they have played in Greg’s life the past few years. Greg graduated from Athol High School in 1965 and was a post graduate at Kimball Union Academy in 1966. An outstanding athlete, he captained three sports teams at Athol High and was a three sport MVP at Kimball Union. He also went on to be a four year letterman in baseball at Boston University. He received a BFA in painting from B.U. in 1970 and a MFA in sculpture from B.U. in 1992. During his professional career, he served as a painting teacher at Hill Institute from 2005-2016 and held teaching associate and assistant positions at B.U. from 1990-1993. A longtime resident of Northampton, many of his works have been on display in local galleries, as well as in other localities throughout Western Massachusetts, Boston, Cape Cod and Connecticut. Two of his most noted sculptures include: one of “Anne Frank”, which is the center piece for the Holocaust Memorial in Boise, Idaho and the “Quarryman” located at Center Hill Park in East Longmeadow. Noted paintings include; “The Young at Heart Chorus” which is displayed at Cooley-Dickinson Hospital and “The Orange Peals” which was one of ten featured paintings exhibited at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY in the summer of 1989. He loved to fish for stripers at the Cape and fly fish for trout in nearby streams. He also looked forward to his daily workouts at the “Y”. One of his proudest accomplishments was his long serving tenure as a member of the board of directors of the Polus Center for Social and Economic Development. Greg was very appreciative of the many grants that he received along the way, which enabled him to pursue his love of art. His most recent show took place on September 9th at the Court House in Northampton. His final sculpture, entitled “Hope”, will be unveiled at the Northampton Court House in the near future. An artist to the end, his friends and former students would be delighted to know that he was still at his easel four days before his passing. Calling hours will be held on Sunday October 9th from 1:00 to 5:00 at the Fiske-Murphy and Mack Funeral Home at 110 New Athol Road, Orange, MA. In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested for the following beneficiaries: (1) for aspiring artists a scholarship in his name will be established at Northampton High School. Donations can be sent to Northampton High School, attention Kim Broussard, 380 Elm Street, Northampton, MA 01060; (2) the Polus Center for Social and Economic Development, PO Box 773, 6 North Main Street, Petersham, MA 01366 or (3) the Chuck Stone Little League of Athol, c/o Charles Stone Jr. 350 Mayo Road, Orange, MA 01364. For information about Greg go to Gregorystoneartist.com To leave an online condolence, please visit www.mackfamily.com. Fiske-Murphy & Mack Funeral Home, 110 New Athol Rd., Orange is directing arrangements