Noah Stone

On Sunday, September 6, the world got a little darker when Noah Manley Stone, 48, passed away after a long and cruel illness. Noah was born on November 2, 1971 to Donna L. and Jack Stone. He was a lifelong resident of Holland, Ohio. In 1990 he graduated from Springfield High School where he played football and competed in the JROTC Drill Team. He married Ericka Fortner in 1997 and they have two children, Noah and Kiley. Noah was a 21 year member of the Holland Village Council and was President for the last year. He was the third generation of the Stone Family to serve the Village of Holland following his father who was on council and his grandfather who served as Mayor. He was a 28 year member of the Northern Light Masonic Lodge in Maumee. He taught himself to play the banjo and performed with various groups in the area including the Cakewalkin’ Jass Band. For 28 of his 48 years, Noah struggled with kidney disease. Beginning in 1993, he had 3 kidney transplants, one from his brother John, one from his sister, Lori and one from his son, Noah. In the years between transplants, he had periods of dialysis and short term hospitalizations for various infections or kidney related issues. Instead of complaining, he tried to be positive and focus on having fun. Mostly he loved having fun with Ericka and the kids. He loved joking around with his family and planning vacations or short adventures with them. He was a Dad who never missed a sporting event or a dance recital or horse riding competition. Noah coached little league soccer and baseball for little Noah and softball for Kiley. He also officiated high school football games. He was always willing to help someone or make someone laugh. His family always knew that if there was a problem, Noah would just show up to help. His life may have been short but he brought so much happiness to his family and his community. Noah was preceded in death by his parents, his grandparents, two brothers-in-law and his father-in-law. In addition to his wife Ericka and children, Noah and Kiley, he is survived by his mother-in-law, Karen Fortner, his siblings: Roxanne Stone-Warr (Charlie Warr, deceased), Lori Eckel (Charlie Eckel, deceased), Jodey (Jeff) MacQueen, John (Jodie) Stone, and special stepbrother David Manley (Diana) nieces and nephews: Anisa and Julianne Warr, Evelyn Warr-Cummings (Paul Omness), and Charlie (Heather) Warr, Arin (Rachel), Zach (Allison), and Spencer (Kellsey) MacQueen, Caitlin (Dan) Brandesky, Sally and Joe Stone. Special thanks to Dr. Michael Rees and the ICU team at UTMC for working so hard to save Noah these last few weeks. After so many years of fighting along with Noah, they finally had to admit defeat. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Kidney Foundation of Northwest Ohio, or The Springfield High School JROTC Program. The family will receive guests at the Maison-Dardenne-Walker Funeral Home, 501 Conant St., Maumee, Ohio from 3pm to 7pm on Friday, September 11 with a Masonic Service to be held at 7pm. A private funeral service will be held Saturday with Mr. Larry Manley officiating. Online condolences may be shared at walkerfuneralhomes.com