Rosemary Stone

(From Parker Mortuary)

Following a sudden decline in health this past December, Rosemary Stone, a lifelong resident of Joplin, Missouri, passed away peacefully in the early morning of Tuesday 4 March 2025 while under hospice care at Communities of Wildwood nursing home.

Mary Louise Gooch, who always went by Rosemary or Rosie, was born in Joplin on Thursday 20 March 1924, the youngest (and the only surviving daughter) of the six children born to Floyd Warne Gooch and Rose Lucille Spiker Gooch.

Young Rosemary was a gifted ballet dancer and helped teach at Miss Kirtley’s dance academy. Following her graduation from Joplin High School in 1941, she spent a year at Sullins College in Bristol, Virginia. Although Rosie was not literally a riveter, she did aid the war effort by working in the paint division of Joplin’s Eagle-Picher company during World War II.

On Saturday 12 July 1947, Rosemary married James W. Stone of Joplin, whom she had known since childhood as a friend of her brothers. They had four children and were together for more than 51 years, until Jim passed away on 15 January 1999.

Rosemary was a traditional homemaker and mother in the best and most loving sense: cooking delicious meals, handling all aspects of the household, and juggling the myriad activities of her children – including, often enough, children who were not her own but belonged to relatives. Amid the tumult she maintained a sunny, matter-of-fact disposition and never complained.

Unassuming generosity and service were the hallmarks of Rosemary’s life. During high school she worked as a Candy Striper at St John’s Hospital. For decades she belonged to Joplin’s First Presbyterian Church, where she was ordained as a deacon and was a member of the Curtis Club. Later, she was a regular at the church’s Wednesday morning study group and volunteered in the office by dealing with the weekly attendance rolls and helping to produce the monthly newsletter.

A few of Rosemary’s numerous services to the community included years spent as an elections poll worker, serving on the board of the Joplin Humane Society, assisting Crosslines Ministries in their clothing service, providing hospitality at local blood drives (where she ended up donating almost 30 gallons of her own blood), and serving the Joplin Senior Center by driving patients to appointments and delivering meals to homebound “old people” until she herself was in her 90s.







Blessed with good health throughout her life, Rosemary lived on her own in the family home until mid-December. As recently as this past summer, at age 100, one of her favorite activities was mowing her nearly three-acre lawn on a riding mower. She took aerobic classes at the YMCA in her 80s (stopping only when the teacher left), and in her later years enjoyed travel to destinations far beyond Joplin – including Hawaii, Alaska, Italy, Kenya, and even the Galapagos Islands.

Besides her husband, Jim, Rosemary was preceded in death by a stepson, James Allen Stone of Dardanelle, Arkansas, and by a daughter-in-law, Wangarĩ wa Nyatetũ-Waigwa. She is survived by her children: Christopher Stone (wife Wangarĩ, deceased) of Ogden, Utah; Craig W. Stone of Joplin; Kimberly Stone (Bob Maeda) of Eugene, Oregon; and Brett Stone (Patti Lury) of Houston, Texas. She is also survived by a sister-in-law, Ann Bane of Carthage, Missouri, as well as by six grandchildren and a growing number of great- and great-great-grandchildren.

At her request, there will be no public service.