grave import

Obituary

Ferne Elizabeth Baber Stone, formerly of Burlington, died Nov. 9, 2007, in Orange, Calif. Born in 1915 near Chariton, she was the daughter of Walter James Baber and Nancy Jane Hopkins Baber. In 1934, she married Edward Carroll Stone in Chariton. He died in 1991. The couple moved to Burlington in 1936. While her husband was in the Army during World War II, she worked for a physician in the Medical Arts Building. In the 1950s, she kept books at the Burlington Golf Club and later ran the office of the Overhead Door distributorship, which she and her husband owned until her husband retired in 1978. During her decades in Burlington, she developed into a gifted china painter, giving demonstrations and writing occasional articles. Her plates and platters became local collectors' items. She was active in Grace United Methodist Church, United Methodist Women and the Avesta Class, PEO Chapter KB, King's Daughters and Burlington Women's Club. After her husband died, she moved to California to be near her family. Survivors include two sons, Edward and James of California; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents and four brothers. A memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Grace Methodist Church. A private burial will be at Aspen Grove Cemetery. A memorial has been established for Grace United Methodist Church.