Silent Keys

Through amateur radio we're fortunate to make many friends both near and far, yet a sad fact of life is that at some time or another we have to say a final farewell to people we've known and loved.  Here on this page we can remember those hams from the ENY section who have passed on, reliving fond memories and looking forward to a time when we might see them again.

"73" to those who have passed before us...

It is with incredible sadness that I have to announce the passing of one of our dearest members. On Saturday November 1, 2008 Sylvia Stone K2SLY passed away after difficulties from surgery. Sylvia now joins Frank Stone KB2YUR SK, her husband, in Heaven.

Sylvia was a member of the Eastern New York Section Staff by serving as Affiliated Club Coordinator and Co-Chairperson for the Empire State Games. Frank and Sylvia took a commanding role the last time the games were in Eastern New York and have been commended by the games organizers, government agencies and the Amateur Community for their leadership performance in helping Amateur Radio serve the games. For the 2009 games we originally decided that the games would be in honor of Frank. With a heavy heart, but with pride, the 2009 games will be in honor of both Frank and Sylvia.

In Sorrow,

Pete Cecere N2YJZ
Section Manager
Eastern New York
                

Obituary from the Poughkeepsie Journal : Note - Sylvia's correct call sign is K2SLY.

Sylvia Mary Stone
MODENA - Sylvia Mary Stone, loving daughter, wife and friend passed away at Mt. Sinai Hospital Saturday, November 1, 2008 surrounded by those who will
never forget her compassionate heart or remarkably sharp mind. Sylvia was born in the Bronx on April 26, 1953 the daughter of Vito and Mary Bank Fierro. Mrs. Fierro survives at home in Beacon. Sylvia graduated from Aquinas HS in the Bronx in 1971 and went on to earn her BS in English
Literature from Fordham University in 1975. Sylvia has been working as a Controller for H.O. Penn Machinery Co., Inc. since she graduated from Fordham. She will be greatly missed. Sylvia moved to Dutchess County in 1980
and later met her soul mate, Frank Stone, who only predeceased her in death 17 months ago. The two were married on April 13, 1991 in Newburgh, NY. Frank
died on July 17, 2007. Frank's mother, Mrs. Betty Stone of Chatham, NY also survives. Sylvia was a Ham Radio operator call letters KB2SLY, and an active member of A.R.E.S. and R.A.C.E.S. In addition to her mother, Mary and mother
in law Betty, Sylvia is survived by countless people whom she has touched in
her all too brief 55 years; her best friends, Marina and her husband Jeff
and daughter Angel DeLong of Salt Point, Patricia and her husband Michael
Keane of Pleasant Valley, Lisa Katz of Ardsley, Sue and her husband Willie
and daughters, Niki and Kayla Rosado of Modena, Ro Milano of Poughkeepsie,
John and his wife Paula Marino of Hopewell Junction. In lieu of flowers
donations may be made to the Hudson Valley Chapter Make-A-Wish Foundation,
832 South Broadway, The Wish House, Tarrytown, NY 10591, E-Mail:
hudson@hudson.wish.org or to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St.
Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Calling hours will be two days, Tuesday and
Wednesday from 2-4 and 7-9 on both days. A Mass of Christian Burial will be
celebrated at St. Mary Mother of the Church on Jackson Street in Fishkill on
Thursday at 10:00 AM. Interment will be in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Newburgh

 

Frank Stone KB2YUR

1953 - 2007

The Amateur Radio Service, and the Eastern New York Section in particular, lost a great friend and Section Emergency Coordinator on 7/17/07.  Frank Stone KB2YUR passed away after fighting a long and valiant battle with cancer.  Frank's dedication to emergency communications, professionalism, generosity and friendship will be sorely missed by all who knew him; and his contributions to the service and section have touched us all - either directly or indirectly.

Frank is survived by his wife Sylvia K2SLY, and mother.  Please keep Frank, Sylvia and Mrs. Stone in your hearts and prayers during this difficult time.

Donations in Frank's memory may be made to the following:

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Or

Masonic Brotherhood Fund

7 Kinderhook Street

Chatham, NY 12037

George Russell Monroe AK2L

1927 - 2007

From Russell Monroe:

"My Dad died this morning, sitting at his picnic table in his yard in Poughkeepsie, New York. He was 80.

George R. Monroe was born on February 3rd in 1927. As a boy in Northfield, New Jersey he already had a love for, and an uncommon understanding of, the miracle gadgetry of radio. He also had an amazing CW "fist" by the time he was a teenager.

He served as a radio operator on a minesweeper (USS YMS 330) in the Sea of Japan, among other places. After the war he went back to sea in the summers as a radio operator on Sun Oil tankers to augment the GI bill for his RPI education. A member of engineering's oldest honor society, Tau Beta Pi, he went to work for IBM as a Systems Designer.

He was part of IBM in it's most exciting, innovative era. A time he dearly loved. He worked on the first solid state computer after Bell Labs invented the transistor in 1955. He, along with his two invention partners Carl Christiansen and Larry Canter, gave IBM the Channel System, or Data Synchronizer, in 1957. And by the time all it's challenges were cleared in 1969 it became one of the most important patents in IBM's history.

He struggled back to full speed after a series of strokes in the early eighties, using his CW skills to put the life and coordination back into his hands and mind. He had incredible grit, astounding perception, and a depth of character I fear I will never see again.

As an adventurer, he mastered the air and the sea. He was a husband and father who knew when to be tough when it was needed, when to be patient when it was called for, and when to stay calm when everyone else was in a panic. He could always see right through humanity's affectations to see the core of what was real, and what mattered. I can't count how many times he helped me keep both my feet on the ground, while at the same time, teaching me to fly in every way that matters.

He leaves behind Elaine Faith, his wife of 57 years, Susan Elaine, his loving daughter, and Russell William, his grateful son."