Paul Wayne Stone

Paul Wayne Stone (83) passed away peacefully on February 23, 2025, in Little Rock, AR. He was born July 19, 1941, to Marvin Levi Stone & Ela Belle Webb Stone at Beech Creek, Whelen Springs, AR.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Donald Lee Stone, & sister Janelle Stone Forthman.

Paul is survived by one sister, Sherry Stone Harmon (Bryan) of Malvern, AR; two daughters: Sonja Stone Jordan (Grant) of Little Rock, AR, and Michelle Stone Montgomery (Andrew) of St. Louis, MO: 4 grandchildren: Domini Montgomery-O'Leary (Dalton) of St. Louis, MO, Tyler Montgomery (Alayna) of Rapid City, SD, and Aaron Jordan & Davis Jordan both of Little Rock, AR; and 4 great grandchildren: Vivianne Montgomery, Peyton O'Leary, Philip Montgomery, and Derrick Montgomery, as well as many nieces & nephews.

Paul was an avid outdoorsman. He loved hunting and fishing. He was treasurer for "Back 40 Hunting Club" for many years. He was a gun enthusiast and often carried his loaded pearl-handled revolver in a saddle bag on his walker. We called it his horse. He was an extremely competent repairman, builder, and talented woodworker. He, along with his father and brother Don, built homes around Gurdon, Arkadelphia, & Bismarck, AR. He served as an electrical technician in the US Air Force and worked as an electrician for Reynolds Metals, ultimately retiring as Maintenance Supervisor.

In 1962, Paul joined the Air Force and served overseas in England for training and then Tripoli, Libya for almost 2 years. Amidst the Vietnam conflict in 1966, he was called back into service by the USAF & Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) due to his electrical skills. He was enlisted onto a covert team to install a Lockheed TACAN radar navigation system to assist pilots in their bombing campaigns over North Vietnam. Because Laos was a neutral country, the US was prohibited from openly conducting military operations inside of Laos.

So, the installation team was sheep-dipped by the CIA, meaning the team members were not allowed to carry any form of identification while working inside Laos. In late 1967, once fully operational, Lima Site 85 directed 55% of all bombing operations against the Communist North Vietnamese. After serving two enlistments, Paul was honorably discharged at the rank of Staff Sergeant.

Our family would like to express our gratitude to the staff at Presbyterian Village for their selfless care of Paul over the last several months.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honor of Paul Wayne Stone to the Parkinson's Foundation, or The Presbyterian Village Foundation in Little Rock.

Pallbearers: Andrew Montgomery, Grant Jordan, Dalton O'Leary, Tyler Montgomery, Aaron Jordan, Davis Jordan.

Honorary Pallbearers: Domini Montgomery-O'Leary & Alayna Montgomery.