Obituary of Stephen Edward Stone

Stephen Edward “Steve” Stone, born 18 May 1948 in Concord, Contra Costa, CA and died 13 October 2025 in Parker, Douglas, CO. 

Steve’s graveside service will be held Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at Memory Gardens Cemetery 2011 Arnold Industrial Way, Concord, California. A reception will follow at 3252 Alta Lane, Lafayette, CA.

Steve married Karen Jayne Wagner on November 30, 1968, in Pleasant Hill, California. They welcomed daughter Shaunna King in 1976.

He was preceded in death by his parents Clarence and Myrtle Stone, and granddaughter Michaela King. Steve is Survived by his wife Karen Stone; daughter Shaunna King and her husband Matthew Thompson; grandson Braeden King and his wife Cathy Crowe; and great-grandson Spencer King.

Steve had many interests over the years.  Starting when he was young his parents built him an outside aviary where he raised chickens, pigeons and quail. From there he took a course in taxidermy and mounted and sold many trophies for family and friends, even a neighbor dog who had passed.  

In 1966 Steve was driving home from a job interview with a taxidermist when he was hit by a hit and run driver.  That accident paralyzed him from the neck down but after several months of rehab he recovered enough to be able to use his upper body quite well and walk in braces and canes.  However, the walking proved a bit much and Steve chose to use a wheelchair from then on.  In 1967 Steve enrolled in Diablo Valley College where he met his future wife, Karen, and his new lifelong friend, Harry Byrne. Harry introduced Steve to photography. Steve was hooked.  He pursued that interest to the point of having his own darkroom and earned money that helped pay for college photographing weddings, and taking aerial pictures, with the help of his cousin Charles, for a local construction company.  He also was hired by Wentling Camera in the Sunvalley Mall. They gave him a nice discount which helped support this hobby.

After graduating from DVC with his AA degree Steve enrolled in the University of California at Hayward where he got his BS in biology and his MS in entomology. It took some looking but eventually Steve was hired by the Department of Interior National Park Service.  He thought he was going to work in San Francisco but they said they wanted him to work in Denver so he and Karen and baby Shaunna packed their stuff in a U-Haul and drove to Denver in January 1978.

It didn’t take the neighbor kids long to learn of Steve’s interest in bugs and one day brought him some cocoons they were curious about.  Steve researched just what kind they were and so began his deep interest in saturniid moths.  Like all his interests he researched all he could find on them and began an extensive collection of many species of saturniids.  He met many other people also interested in saturniids, went on many collecting trips and reached out to other collectors all over the world trading some of his specimens for some of theirs. He was hired as a volunteer at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to curate their insect collection and did that for many years. Steve published a book on the food plants of world saturniids and some articles on saturniid moths in scientific journals.  He discovered and described a whole new species they named hemileuca stonei, common name Stone’s Buckmoth.

Steve’s job at the park service was also very interesting. One of the first things he did after getting settled in to his new job was to educate the fellow employees in the world of wheelchair access.  He found two wheelchairs in the building and had people sign up to take his wheelchair tours of the building and grounds so they would understand just how inaccessible the world was.  That led to him being included in the task force that was writing the new handicap access standards for the federal government.  He also was invited to raft the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon to establish handicap regulations for the rafting tours. For all of this Steve was awarded Federal Handicapped Employee of the Year in 1980.  He and his family were flown out to Washington, DC where he received the award.  After the guidelines were done Steve moved to the roads and trails division and was tasked with writing the environmental impact statements and other documents for the park renovations.  He travelled to all the parks he was assigned to work on to see the project and gather the data for his document.  When Yosemite had their big flood a few years ago the superintendent of Yosemite called Steve’s boss and requested Steve be sent there to do all the documents for the restoration.  It took 6 weeks. He got a nice award for that job too.

After retiring in 2008 Steve filled his time researching some stoneware he collected, eventually writing several articles for the club newsletter.  He and Karen acquired some parrots and have had lots of fun with them.  He also started collecting a plant called adenium or desert rose.  He very much enjoyed collecting and taking care of them.  

Steve will be greatly missed. May his memory always be for a blessing.