Wilson Stone

Wilson Napoleon Stone was born on June 28, 1918, in Edgewater, Alabama. He was one of eight children of the late William Henry and Fannie Lee Wilson Stone. Siblings, Sadie, Eva, Fannie, William, Ernest and Rufus have all preceded him in death.
When he was a child, his family moved to Birmingham, Alabama. While living in Birmingham, he was a member of 16th Street Baptist Church. Wilson was educated at Industrial “Parker” High School and graduated in May of 1936 in Birm- ingham, Alabama. In 1940, he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and had resided there until his peaceful passing on February 18, 2015.
He was drafted into the United States Army in 1944 and was honorably discharged from Camp Atterbury in Indiana, in 1946. He later married Elizabeth Isome, and helped raise her three children, who also all preceded him in death.
Wilson worked for General Electric as a machine operator for 31 years until retiring.
Wilson, “Rock” was an avid golfer. His love for golf started at a young age in Birmingham, Alabama where he began as a caddy making only $.75 per day. Wilson was one of the first blacks in the early 1940’s to play at Avon Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. Wilson stated in the Cincinnati Enquirer, November 17, 2002, “I was a better than average pool player”, he said “Putting a golf ball and shooting pool are much the same thing. It’s all about a rolling ball, figuring angles of contact and speed.”
Wilson was a member of the Greater Cincinnati Golfers Club for over 25 years. He loved the game of golf so much that he also taught the game to children while he worked with the Golfers Club and with the Jimmy Woods Golf Foundation. Wilson was also inducted into the National Black Golf Hall of Fame in July, 2003. He also attended his annual golf trip to Florida every year till his health prohibited him from attending.
He leaves to cherish his memory: his loving sister, Louise Bragg of Cleveland, Ohio; grandchildren, Trevin, Tab, Brennan, Steven, Ralph, Michael, Robin, Vicky and Sonny; along with a host of great-grandchildren, nieces and neph- ews, and special friends, Gwen Mendenhall, Columbus “Pete” Peters and Miriam McAllister.
Wilson will be missed by all those who had the privilege of knowing him. He will be especially missed by those who had the pleasure of loving him. He will forever be remembered for his way with words like one of his phrases he would use, “I’m pretty fair for a square.”
Wilson was also known as “Unk”, “Buddy” and “Rock”. We love you!