Dr. Irwin K. Stone

A memorial concert for Dr. Irwin K. Stone, 88, of 1417 Sunset Ridge, will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at First Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Frederick G. Garry, senior pastor, officiating. The body was donated to medical science.

Dr. Stone, a specialist in internal medicine and cardiology who practiced in Watertown for more than 30 years, died Friday at Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, of complications of a fall.

There will be no calling hours. Arrangements are with Cleveland Funeral Home.

Born April 8, 1920, at Glens Falls, son of Albert B. and Rowena Kingsbury Stone, he graduated in 1937 from Carthage High School as salutatorian of his class.

He attended Syracuse University for two and a half years as a premedical student, followed by four years at Chicago (Ill.) College of Osteopathy, and then served in the Navy during World War II as a pharmacist's mate in the Fleet Marine Force.

In September 1944, he entered New York University College of Medicine and while in college was assigned to the Naval Reserves.

He married Wilfreda Brown on Dec. 27, 1944, at her parents' home in Baldwinsville with the Rev. Nathan S. Aller officiating. Mrs. Stone was an attorney in Watertown for more than 30 years and was the first woman president of the Jefferson County Bar Association.

He received a doctor of medicine degree from New York University College of Medicine in June 1948 and was commissioned a lieutenant junior grade in the Navy.

He served his internship at Syracuse University Medical Center Hospital.

Dr. Stone was recalled to active duty in 1952 and was assigned to the Sixth Fleet, serving in the Mediterranean as a medical officer and radiological defense officer on the carrier USS Tarawa.

After a year of sea duty, he was transferred to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa., as a full lieutenant.

He was released from the Navy in 1954 and moved to Watertown to open an office at 236 Woolworth Building. He specialized in internal medicine and cardiology and retired May 31, 1986, after 31 years' practice in Watertown.

Dr. Stone was active in numerous medical groups, including the American College of Physicians as an associate, American Heart Association, American Diabetic Association, Mohawk Valley Society of Internal Medicine and Jefferson County Medical Society and was on the staff of the House of the Good Samaritan, now Samaritan Medical Center, and the former Mercy Hospital.

He was an early advocate for regional health care planning, serving as president of the North Country Areawide Comprehensive Health Planning Council and as chairman of the Jefferson County Health Planning Committee.

Dr. Stone volunteered periodically in under-served health-care areas here and abroad. In spring 1968, he volunteered for six weeks as a visiting specialist under the CARE-Medico program to Avicenna Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. He and his son, Charles K., volunteered at the Navajo Nation Health Foundation's Sage Memorial Hospital, Ganado, Ariz., for four weeks in January 1975. In 1981, they volunteered for a clinic in rural Jamaica.

Dr. Stone was a member of Henderson Harbor Yacht Club and was elected commodore in 1963. He was an avid sailor, racing in the club Lightning series and the regional Lightning and Eastern Yachting circuits. He also was said to have been an accomplished outdoorsman and fisherman, which in later years became a major recreational focus.

He also enjoyed music, strongly supporting the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and its classical music concerts. For years, he enjoyed playing gutbucket with the Arrhythmias big band.

Surviving besides his wife are his son and daughter-in-law, Dr. Charles K. and Tanya M. Stone, and his daughter, Gale A. Stone, all of Madison, Wis.; a sister, Marcia S. Treadwell, Watertown; a brother and his wife, Dr. Frederic A. and Nella Stone, Pantego, Texas, three grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

Donations may be made to the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra Endowment Fund, 411 Montgomery St., Suite 40, Syracuse, N.Y. 13202-2981, or the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 3049, Syracuse, N.Y. 13220.