The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 77, No. 56, Ed. 1 Monday, January 4, 1999 Page: 3 of 12
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THE BAYTOWN SUN
Family struggles with teiminal illness of teen-ager
By JIM WEBRE
The Baytown Sun
Laurie Stone can take bits of
paper, photographs and an aver-
age photo album and turn them
into a profound chronicle of a
camping trip.
She and her husband, Roger,
have six kids, and they admit
their parenting skills have
changed to fit the times with
their three-year-old and 20-
month old boys since they had
their first child 20 years ago.
But nothing could prepare
them for every parent’s night-
mare — the prolonged death
watch for their 16,-year-old son,
Brian. \„
Since May 10, 1997, thp Stone
family has lived with the possi-
bility, and now certainty that
Brian will die from brain cancer.
“We didn’t know what to do,
but we learned how to do it,”
said Laurie Stone, less than 10
FUNERAL NOTICES
minutes after her husband had
given Brian his medicine for
pain and seizures.
Roger Stone is a computer
programmer for Exxon, and the
family was in the midst of mov-
ing back to Texas from Virginia
when Brian was diagnosed with
cancer, a turner inside the left
side of his brain that is not so
gradually growing and debilitat-
ing the once active red-haired
Eagle Scout.
Brian can hear you talk to
him, but his response and cog-
nizance lapses.
And his older sister, 20-year-
old Melissa, says she almost has
to shout to get him to respond
over the telephone.
Laurie and Roger Stone have
relied on their faith as Mormons
and their love for each other and
their son to deal with the
wrenching realization that doc-
tors at M.D. Anderson Medical
Center have given their son only
, “ &:-y .!
a matter of months to live.
Melissa left Brigham Young
University, where she hopes to
major in chemical engineering,
and enrolled at a junior college
in Houston because she had to
be with her family. There simply
was no other choice.
“There is not time to do things
for yourself,” Roger Stone says.
“Like changing the oil in the car,
which I Used to do regularly.”
Elizabeth Stone is 12 years old
and closely resembles Brian.
Melissa is 20 and looks like the
Stone’s oldest son, Reed, 19,
who is away on missionary work
in Louisiana.
Because of the closeness in
ages, Reed and Melissa are
close, while Elizabeth and Brian
jjpent more time with each other
as small children.
Elizabeth is the one who
found Brian in an almost cata-
tonic state May 10, 1997, at the
kitchen table in Virginia.
“It’s scary,” she says of the
ordeal.
The need to care for the dying
boy is a complete reversal of
roles almost since Brian’s child-
hood.
“He was a great baby,” his
mother says. “At fours years old
he would ask to watch old fami-
ly movies while I took a nap.”
Elizabeth was an infant then. v
“Even grandparents can’t do
that,” she says.
“Brian has never put demands
on anyone,” says Roger Stone.
In fact, Brian has always been
the child in the family who
helped clean up and fix up.
At age 12, Brian took it upon
himself to repair an automatic
garage door opener after light-
ning struck the family’s Baytown
home.
“The rest of the family didn’t
find out he was installing (the
repaired Unit) until he asked for
help to drill some holes,” his
FOREHAND
Josh P. Forehand, 83, died Jan-
uary 2,1999.
Forehand was a longtime resi-
dent of Baytown and he had been
an employee of Brown and Root
for 32 years. He retired from
Brown and Root in 1982. He is
survived by his sons and daugh-
ter in law, Josh Forehand of Bay-
town, i and Keith and Debra
Forehand of Baytown; daughters,
Roxann Baggerley and Tyba
Watkins; sister, Lilly Wrey of
Silsbee; Three grandchildren,
Lisa Forehand, Kristopher
“Alek” Forehand and Kyra Fore-
hand, all of Baytown.
Visitation will be from 6 p.m.
to 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 4 at
E,arthman Baytown Chapel.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 5, at Earthman
Baytown Chapel, Rev. Tommy
Clements officiating.
Memorials may be given to
Sterling Library. '■ ,
Arrangements are under the
direction Of Earthman Baytown
Chapel.
RENDON
Guadalupe Cardenas Rendon,
58, died Saturday, January 2,
1999 in a local hospice.
Rendon was born Sept. 4,
1940 in Wellington, Minn. He
was a U.S. Army veteran and
was affiliated with the Trinity
Tabernacle Assembly of God
Church. . _ -
He was preceded in death by
his mother, Severita Rendon and
his brother, Oliver Rendon.
He is survived by his father,
Domingo Salinas Rendon of San
Antonio; his wife, Robena Ren-
don of Baytown; sons and
daughter-in-law, Tony and
Racheal Sorola, and Michael
"Sorola, all of Baytown; daugh-
ters and sons-in-law, Mary Eliza-
beth and Treavor Stripling Of
Pacifica, Mo., Regina and
Manuel Castillo of Baytown,
Paula and Bill Burgess of Bay-
town and Jackie and Juan Ortiz
of Baytown; sisters and brother-
in-law, Bertha Rendon of San
'‘"'Antonio and Rosamaria and
Louis Ortiz of McAllen; brother,
Joel Rendon of San Antonio;
father-in-law and mother-in-law
Bud and Euelalah Fisher of Bay-
town; Thirteen grandchildren
and numerous aunts, uncles and
cousins.
The family extends a special
thanks to the staffs of San Jacin-
to Methodist Hospital and Hos-
pice and Bayside Home Health
for the care given Rendon during
his long illness.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8
p.m. with a rosary that will begin
at 7 p.m.
Funeral services will be held
Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 1 p.m. at
Navarre Funeral Home with the
Rev. Franklin McCorkle, Dr.
James Bernick and James
Collins officiating. Burial will
follow at Houston National
Cemetery at 3 p.m.'
Rendon’s sons and sons-in-law
will be pallbearers. Honorary
pallbearers will be Dr. James
Bernick, Dr. Ted Krell, Dr.
Edward Pena, James Collins and
grandsons.
Arrangements are under the
direction of Navarre Funeral,
Home. -
CLARK
Veronica Marie Clark, age 80,
died January 2, 1999 at Happy
Harbor Methodist Home in La
Porte. She had lived in La Porte
for five years.
Clark was born in the Bronx,
New York, and lived there until
she married James P Clark in
1957. ^ •
They moved to California,
where her husband was stationed
in the Air Force. Following her
husband’s death in 1967, she
relocated to Baytown to live with
a nephew. She was preceded in
death by members of her family
and had no living relatives. She
adopted Sam and Flora Bozich
of Baytown as her family.
They remained close friends
until her death. She became
known as “Polly,” and was a
member of St. Joseph Catholic
Church.
Visitation will be from 3 to 7
p.m. with a rosary at 7 pun. on
Monday, Jan. 4 at Earthman
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ja/ziTiisi1
Baytown Chapel. There will be a
graveside service 10 a.m. Tues-
day, Jan. 5, at White Cemetery in
Highlands, with Deacon John
Singer officiating.Arrangements
are under the direction of Earth-
man Baytown Chapel.
DILLINGER
Holly L. Dillinger, one month
old, died January 2,1999 in Bay-
town.
She is survived by her mater-
nal grandmother, Debbie Clark;
Rev. Peter Gray officiating.
Burial time will be 12:30 p.m.
on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at Cedar Crest
Cemetery in Baytown.
Arrangements are under the
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father said.
When Brian was diagnosed, a
lot of things were happening
with the Stone family: Melissa
Stone was about to graduate
from high school and entef col-
lege, Reed Stone was preparing
for his missionary work, and
Laurie Stone had just givei^birth
to Andrew scarcely a month
before Brian’s first seizure in
their Virginia home.
But, the Stones say,with1 help
from their church, from Roger
Stone’s employer, Exxon, and
one another, they managed to
get back to Texas and deal with
their circumstances
“There are just a lot of really
nice people Mo have supported
us through this,” says Rogisr
Stone.
“Throughout all of this, we
believe there was some guiding
force that allowed things to hap-
pen when they did,” he says.
On last Friday, Laurie; Stone
left the house to pick her own
mother up at the airport.
“That’s the First time I’ve been
out of the house in a while,” she
said.
have always watched my
kids like a hawk. I have always
been paranoid that something
would happen to them,”
But with the usual nicks and
scratches, her children had
always been healthy and safe.
Brian’s illness has made the
Stone’s adapt.
“I don’t think it’s changed any-
thing in how we do things as
parents,” she says.
“Although the two younger
boys are being parented a bit dif-
ferently. We’re older now.”
direction of Baytown Funeral
Heme.
POAGE
Katheryn L. Poage, 88, passed
away on January 3, 1999 in
League City. She is survived by
two sons, Robert Goodwin
Poage and wife, Brenda of
League City, and Jack Alan
Poage and wife; Nancy of Hous-
ton; one brother, Bill Goodwin
of Weatherford; one sister,
nal grandmother, LieDDie uanc; Frankie Hartwig of O’Donnell;
paternal grandmother, Mary^ Three grandchildren and four
Schwartz; and brothers, Mathew great-grandchildren.
Dillmger and T.J. Dtllmger. There will be a j p m grave_
Visitation wiH be from 10 a.m side service Qn Tuesd Jan 5 at
until noon at Baytown Funeral San Jacint0 Memorial Park
Home. Funeral services will be Cem in Houston with the
^Wn8h, office,
Arrangements are under the
direction of Jack Rowe Funeral
Home in League City.
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Dobbs, Gary. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 77, No. 56, Ed. 1 Monday, January 4, 1999, newspaper, January 4, 1999; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1019232/m1/3/: accessed July 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.