Charles A. Stone

Charles was born November 9, 1924 in Park Rapids, MN. Chuck graduated high school in 1943, enlisted in the US Army Air Corp and participated in World War II stateside. Upon returning to civilian life and Park Rapids in 1946, he met and married Nellie Anne Anderson, born and raised in Little Falls. Together they purchased the Stone family business, the Rainbow Inn resort hotel and cabins on Fish Hook River. When recalled to military service in 1951 during the Korean War, he served as trainee and instructor at various base assignments in. While on assignment in Yokota, Japan he flew photographic reconnaissance missions over the Russian-Korean borders during 1953-54. Upon return Stateside, Charles moved his young family of 4 to Lincoln, NE, where they were able to enjoy stable family, community lives and Air Force assignment for 5 years. Next tours of duty led them to Bossier City, LA; Springfield, VA for Chuck’s 4 years in the Pentagon in Washington, DC; then last 2 years of military service as Executive Officer to Deputy Director of Plans at NATO’s Air South headquarters in Naples, Italy. In 1968 Charles and family returned to civilian life in Flagstaff, AZ. Charles and Sandra graduated from Northern Arizona University with Bachelors Degrees. Nellie established a rewarding legal secretarial career with a busy law firm in town. Chuck and Nellie established a satisfying church and social life. David graduated from high school in Flagstaff and started college at NAU. He joined the Air Force with assignments that took him to Shemya Island at the western-most end of the Aleutian Islands far off the coast of Alaska, then to Sacramento, CA. After 4 years of military service, he remained in Sacramento to build a life and family as a civilian. Feeling the draw of families Stone and Anderson back in Minnesota, the remaining 3 Stones moved back to Little Falls. With Chuck’s new multiple-major Bachelor’s degree in K-12 Education with emphasis on Industrial and Fine Arts, he planned to teach high school. However, his new position evaporated as the 1973 national education structure radically changed and employment opportunities disappeared almost overnight. Tapping into long-time talents and experience in building and construction, Charles worked with brother-in-law Norris Anderson’s construction crew building homes in the Little Falls area. He also provided custom woodworking, photographic and display services to the general public through December 1978. Nellie reprised her legal secretarial career working for Michael Perry Law Office. In 1979, an opportunity arose that would combine Chuck’s multiple talents and interests, including history, aviation, the life and inspiration of Charles A. Lindbergh, public education, project and exhibit development, photography and a wider community involvement. For the next rewarding 11 years, he worked for the MN Historical Society managing the Lindbergh House State Historic Site in Little Falls, then “retired” in 1990. Chuck’s next “post-retirement” chapter in life included his and wife Nellie’s home-based business, Charnell Craft Studio, which began as design and production of informational exhibits for various clients. Projects became more complex and technologies advanced. In the 7th and 8th decades of their lives, they mastered multiple complex computer software programs and website design. They partnered with other persons, groups and agencies to perform work they both enjoyed and believed would benefit their clients and communities. Chuck and Nell terminated this service in January 2001. Since then, Chuck has devoted his discretionary time collecting and publishing stories of WW II, the Korean War and the Early Cold War period on his web site RB-29.net. This web site currently contains thousands of illustrations wrapped into more than a hundred stories, exhibits and special subject items and is on record as having been selected as one of the top patriotic web sites in the Nation. It will live on as a part of the ColdWar.org online historic record, which is organized and managed by Francis Gary Powers, Jr. Most of the website work was set aside in 2004 as Charles turned his attention to the loving aid of his wife Nellie as she began the final and most arduous stage of her battle with malignant lymphoma and other medical problems. Her release came in February 2006 after their almost 60-year marriage. She never had to know her adoring partner in life would be diagnosed with a large malignant brain tumor 9 months later. There was little sign or symptom before effects of the cancer emerged the week before he was diagnosed. Remarkably, he had just completed the superbly thorough work on his last project and gift to Central Minnesota: the organization and incorporation of the new Little Elk Nature Preserve on the west bank of the Mississippi River north of Little Falls. The LENP could not exist the founding efforts and devotion of Charles’ friend, archaeologist Douglas Birk of Minneapolis. Charles and Nellie were Methodists; wherever they moved, their primary venue for connecting to their new home communities began with their churches. It was gratifying to Charles that in Little Falls, as everywhere else they made a home, he could appreciate his wife’s superb soprano voice as she sang with their church choir and so richly expressed their Faith. Here they were active members of the First United Church for over 30 years. Chuck maintained warm and abiding connections with the Stone and Anderson families as well as his extensive military and civilian “adopted family members” around the world. Charles is survived by daughter Sandra K. Stone of Little Falls, son David Charles and wife Cheryl (Weist) Stone, grandson Allen Dale Stone, granddaughter April Ann Stone and great-grandson Connar Stone all of Sacramento, CA; nephews Anthony, Gregory and Thomas Stone in the Twin Cities, MN; nephew Gerald Stone in Clearwater, FL; nephew Richard Green in San Jose, CA; nephew Kenneth Pekarek of Brookings, SD; niece Mary Pekarek of Emmett, ID; niece Barbara (Green) Davis in Rio Vista, CA; niece Renee (Stone) Bobick in Minneapolis; and their extended families. Charles was preceded in death by his beloved wife Nellie, his mother Emma, father Allen, brother Herbert T. and wife Irene (Robertson) Stone of Menaga, MN; sisters Pauline (Pekarek) Schleicher of Park Rapids, MN; Beatrice Green of Monterey, CA; grandparents and many aunts and uncles in Park Rapids, MN and in several Iowa communities. Memorial considerations and donations to the Stone Family or: First United Church of Little Falls, MN; Lutheran Care Center of Little Falls, MN; Lindbergh Historic Site of Little Falls, MN; Great River Arts Association of Little Falls, MN; and The Anne Morow and Charles A. Lindbergh Foundation.

Tributes

Charles A. Stone

November 9, 1924 - February 11, 2008