Obituary of Matthew Lee Stone

Matthew Lee Stone Matthew Lee Stone, 40, of Olympia passed away May 8, 2007 at the University of Washington Medical Center from complications following a heart transplant. Matt was born June 15, 1966 in Seattle, WA to Loren and Sharon (Barnes) Stone. He graduated from Shorewood High School in 1984 and went on to play football at Oregon State University until he graduated in 1989 with a degree in finance. In 1992 Matt joined the Washington State Patrol. He started as a trooper working the roads of Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia. He loved serving the public and working the late night shifts so he could catch the “bad guys”. Matt was promoted to sergeant in 2000 and then to lieutenant in 2006. Throughout his career he was a dedicated, hard-working, honorable man. In 1993 Matt married Julie Crouch and they made their home in the Olympia area. They had two children and a busy home life began. While Matt enjoyed hunting, fishing and reading he especially enjoyed just hanging out with his kids. He was a terrific baseball coach and devoted soccer-football-basketball dad. All in all Matt was a great dad, husband, brother and friend. Matt had a quiet inner strength and dignity that served him well during his long battle with his heart condition. He never gave up and was more likely to say “see you later” than “goodbye.” All of those who knew Matt will miss him dearly and remember him fondly. Matt is survived by his wife, Julie; son Jakob and daughter Megan of Olympia; his parents Lorena and Sharon Stone of Olympia; sister, Suzanne (Kevin) Holden and nieces Elizabeth and Camryn of Everett; mother-in-law, Norma Jeanne Crouch of Olympia; sister-in-law, Sadie Elliott of Cottage Grove, Oregon; sister-in-law, Margaret Crouch of Ann Arbor, Michigan; brother-in-law Drew (Kim) Crouch and nieces Madeline and Gigi of Boulder, Colorado and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. A celebration of Matt’s Life will be held at 2:00 PM Saturday, May 19, 2007 at South Sound Community Church, 4710 Park Center Ave, N.E., Lacey, WA 98516. (Directions: From Martin Way, turn North on College, go a short distance and turn right on Park Center Avenue. This is across from the North Thurston School District offices. Overflow parking is available at the School district office parking lot). A college fund has been set up for Matt’s children at Washington Mutual Bank: Direct donations to the Stone Children Education Memorial Fund. “There are some who bring light so great to the world that even after they are gone the light remains.”