Steven Paul Stone (1954-2021)

SALEM TOWNSHIP – On January 14, 2021, Steven Paul Stone passed away at Androscoggin Hospice House in Auburn.

Steve was the husband of estranged wife Victoria, who now lives in New York, daughter of Robert and Sheila Howard of Salem Township. Steve was born on November 1, 1954 in the Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, to the former Loretta Virginia Stone. Because Steve’s dad left them when he was a young boy, Steve took the last name of his grandfather, Sherman Oakley Stone. After high school, Steve worked for 6 years with the Fox Lake Sewer and Water Company. He was also with the local fire department and helped his mother when he could in her restaurant as a cook. Steve spent over 40 years with fire departments in towns wherever he lived. One of those departments was the Kettering Fire Department in Ohio. When Steve and his mother moved to Melbourne, Florida, Steve became Chief of the West Melbourne Fire Department.

Steve’s mom married Bruce Kendall and they operated pet supply stores in several flea markets in the area which Steve helped run, and that is where he met Victoria. They married in 1995 at the Veterans Memorial Building on Merritt Island, Florida. He worked for a while in his wife and her parents’ home cleaning business. After 911, Steve and Vicki joined her father at the Kennedy Space Center/ Visitor Center in Secuity, where he was able to meet many astronauts and celebrities.

In 2004, Steve moved to Salem Township with his wife and her parents. After a while, he went to work with his father in-law and Frank Howard working for Randy Cousineau. Most of that time, he worked remodeling the old Bass Shoe building in Wilton. Besides remodeling, he painted all of the offices that were being built, along with most of the apartments on the 4th floor, until being diagnosed with cancer 3 years ago.

Steve joined the volunteer fire department in Salem Township and became Deputy Chief for Chief Steve Viles. Steve spent his off duty time collecting NASCAR memorabilia and attending races in Daytona, Florida. He watched and recorded races across the country. Some of the NASCAR drivers that Steve met were Mark Martin, Alan Kulwicki, Ernie Ervin and Stirling Martin. He got lots of autographs of his favorite drivers on a NASCAR flag that he took to the races. Steve also collected firefighter and police patches from across the country. Steve enjoyed fishing many times in and around Cape Canaveral, Cocoa and Merritt Island, Florida with his wife and her parents on their Bass boat.

Steve will be buried at the Mt. Abram Cemetery in Salem Township in the summer. Arrangements are under the care and direction of Dan & Scott’s Cremation & Funeral Service, 488 Farmington Falls Rd., Farmington, ME 04938.