Paul Stone

Paul Raymond Stone Jr., beloved father and grandfather, 88, of Orrstown, PA (formerly of Charleston, W.Va.), passed away April 28, 2016 after a short illness. He will be greatly missed. Born December 24, 1927 in Martinsville, Virginia to the late Paul R. Stone Sr. and Mildred Beckner Stone. Paul’s godparents were “Pete” the fishmonger and “Liz: the conjure woman. Paul was the loving husband of the late Katherine P. Stone, whom he married in November 1954, who preceded him in death (January 2008). He was the wonderful father of Paul R. Stone III (Grace) and Katherine M. Stone (Darrell Saksa) and grandfather to Paul R. Stone IV (who is named for his Grandfather). He is also survived by a cousin, James Beckner, and numerous nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his beloved brothers James Lewis Stone (infant) and Samuel Beckner Stone.

Paul attended VPI for one year before volunteering for the U.S. Army where he served in the Medical Corps. During his service in Japan he personally met two notable Japanese men: The Emperor Hirohito and the Christian missionary Kagawa Toyohiko. Upon his return to the US he attended Duke University for one year. He entered the University of Richmond’s T.C. Williams School of Law in 1949, graduating in 1953. He took a leave of absence from his second year of law school to assist in the defense of an African-American male sentenced to death for the rape of a white woman. Despite herculean efforts, including advocating his cause before 4 U.S. Supreme Court Justices, his client was put to death. This event caused him to be a lifelong advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.

Upon graduation from law school Paul practiced criminal law in Richmond, Portsmouth, and Martinsville, Va. for 3 years. In 1956 he joined the Interstate Commerce Commission as an Attorney advisor involved in railroad rate cases. In early 1965 he joined the Federal Trade Commission where he helped pass legislation requiring the first cancer warning labels on cigarette packages.

In late 1965 Paul became a federal Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) with the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare that required a move to Charleston, West Virginia, his home for the next 40 years. He conducted Social Security disability and SSI hearings, and the first federal Black Lung hearings in the State of W.Va.

In 1985 Paul was appointed Overseer, Chief Hearing Examiner and ALJ of the W.Va. Human Rights Commission, pursuant to the W.Va. Supreme Court's Allen decision. His job was to clear up the backlog of unresolved human rights complaints.

In mid-1986 Paul became Juvenile Referee and Chief Probation Officer for Boone and Lincoln Counties, conducting juvenile hearings and supervising the probation staff. This was followed by a brief term as the County Attorney for Kanawha County, temporary ALJ with the W.Va. Department of Employment Security, and City Attorney for the City of South Charleston, W.Va.

During most of 1991, Paul served as Roane County Prosecuting Attorney, where he obtained first degree murder convictions against an individual who shot up a bar; resulting in a sentence of life without mercy. Thereafter, Paul engaged in private practice. He also served as an Adjunct Professor at the West Virginia College of Graduate Studies, teaching Juvenile Law, Psychology, and Criminal Law. He was the City of Dunbar prosecutor from 1995 to 1997. In the early 2000’s he worked for the West Virginia Public Defender Services Appellate Division. In 2003 Mr. and Mrs. Stone moved to Pennsylvania to be closer to their son. Mr. Stone practiced law in Pennsylvania until illness forced his retirement in 2006. During the course of his legal career, Mr. Stone submitted two briefs to the US. Supreme Court.

His hobbies included flying, playing multiple instruments, and composed religious music. He is also the holder of a US Patent for an airfoil.

The family would like to give special thanks and appreciation to Menno Haven Retirement Communities and Norland Family Practice of Chambersburg.

A memorial service to celebrate Paul’s life and accomplishments will be held at the Menno Haven Chapel in Chambersburg, PA on Saturday, May 7, at 2 PM. Arrangements are entrusted to the Thomas L. Geisel Funeral Home and Cremation Center, Chambersburg, PA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Legal Aid of West Virginia or the Southern Center for Human Rights.