Obituary of Donald Sherwood Stone

Donald Sherwood Stone passed away of natural causes on September 5, 2023 in Centennial, Colorado at the age of 94. He was born in 1928 in Mineola, New York, the second of five children. He was raised in Garden City by his father, A. Waldron Stone and his mother, Elizabeth Hubbell Stone, along with an older brother Andy (now deceased), and younger siblings George, Bill and Betsy. The family spent their summers at the family camp, Sunnywood, on the shores of Lake Champlain where Don cultivated his interest in geology.

Don attended Garden City High School, and later Hamilton College, where he majored in geology and art. He then completed a Master’s Degree in one year at Cornell University in structural geology. Upon graduation in 1951, he accepted a position as an exploration geologist with Standard Oil of California where he met his future wife, Charity Ann Murray, a fellow geologist at the company. They were married in Sacramento, California in 1952. While in California they traveled to different geological working sites; during this time the couple were blessed with five daughters: Katherine, Susan, twins Donna & Jennifer, and Jackie (who died in infancy).

In 1961, the family moved to Colorado for Don’s geology job. They bought a house in Littleton with a view of the Rocky Mountains where they lived for 57 years. While in Colorado, Don joined several different companies until he founded his own company, Sherwood Exploration Corporation, in 1972. He continued working as an independent geologist and consultant until his late 80s. During this time, he contributed to over 75 geologic publications and received numerous professional and academic awards. He was active in the RMAG and AAPG geological societies. His contributions furthered the understanding of Rocky Mountain structural geology.

Don was a true “Renaissance Man”. His passions included music, painting, sculpting, model shipbuilding, photography and writing. For over 70 years Don has performed jazz at various musical social functions on drums and piano, and was an avid barbershop quartet singer with his siblings. He and Charity loved to travel and joined the Ports of Call Travel Club in 1976. They went on 16 international trips over the course of the next 13 years. Together, Charity and Don earned their certifications in scuba diving and, for the next 15 years, enjoyed dives off the shores of many tropical islands. He was an enthusiastic swimmer and tennis player well into his 90s.

Don is survived by three of his siblings, his four daughters, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren (soon to be three) and his surrogate son Milton Watters, a valued family friend for over 40 years. He will be remembered for his boundless energy, his humorous poems, his fierce independent spirit, his mischievous nature and his steadfast support of his children’s pursuits. More about his exploits can be found in his published memoir, “Memoir of an Independent Geologist, Navigating the Oil Patch Minefields”.

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