Donna J. Stone

Donna J. Stone (February 23, 1933 - December 12, 1994) was an American poet and philanthropist. Several of her poems were published individually, both before and after her death, as well as a collection of her poetry entitled Wielder of Words (© 1991 Donna J. Stone). Wielder of Words, edited by Ms. Stone's younger son, received a number of honors, and was named the American Poetry Society's 1991 Book of the Year.

Ms. Stone also played an active role in several charities, including the Association for Retarded Children (now The Arc) and the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse (now PCA America). In 1984 she established the Matthew J. Pascal Foundation, named after her firstborn son, and served as its chair until her death.

Born Donna von Schoenweiler, she grew up in Bexley, Ohio, a wealthy suburb of Columbus. She attended the Columbus School for Girls and Capital University, then challenged her parents' wishes and moved to New York. It was there that she met and married her first husband, author and playwright John Pascal. (Mr. Pascal's works later included the Broadway musical George M!) The couple had one child.

Her second marriage was to Lucian E. W. Stone, a real estate investor and retired colonel. The Stones also had one child. Due to Mr. Stone's real estate interests, the family eventually moved from New York to a suburb of Dallas, and it was there that Ms. Stone began writing in earnest. It is believed that most if not all of her published works were written in Texas.

Ms. Stone spent the last few years of her life in poor health. This, however, was when some of her best-known poems were written. She died of heart failure in 1994, and was survived by her two sons, Matthew and Christopher.

In cooperation with American Mothers, Inc., Ms. Stone's family founded the Donna J. Stone National Literary Awards in her honor.

References

Wielder of Words: A Collection of Poems by Donna J. Stone (Christopher K. Stone, ed. © 1991 Donna J. Stone)
American Poetry Society Book of the Year (1991): Wielder of Words: A Collection of Poems by Donna J. Stone (American Poetry Society, Inc., 1991)
American Poetry Society Biography: Donna J. Stone (© 1996 American Poetry Society, Inc.)
Donna J. Stone National Literary Awards (Christopher K. Stone; Matthew J. Pascal Foundation; and American Mothers, Inc.; 1996)
Poet's Market 2000 - Contests & Awards: Donna J. Stone National Literary Awards (Chantelle Bentley, ed. © 1999 Writers Digest Books)
Writer's Market 2000 - Contests & Awards / Multiple Writing Areas: Donna J. Stone National Literary Awards (Kirsten C. Holm, ed. © 1999 Writers Digest Books)
Matthew J. Pascal Foundation (Donna J. Stone, 1984; Christopher K. Stone, 1994)
American Mothers, Inc. (Anna Reeves Jarvis and Sarah Delano Roosevelt, 1935; AMI, 2007)
Prevent Child Abuse America (Nat'l Comm. for the Prevention of Child Abuse: Donna J. Stone, 1972; PCA America: Maura Somers Dughi and Michael Bolton, 1999)
The Arc (Assoc. for Retarded Children: New York, NY, 1950-1954; Assoc. for Retarded Citizens: Arlington, TX, 1970-1974; The Arc: Arlington, TX, 1980-1981)
Poetry Society of America (Witter Bynner, 1910)
George M! (Book by John Pascal, Francine Pascal, and Michael Stewart: Tams-Witmark, 1968; NBC, 1970)
Stonegate, LP (Lucian E. W. Stone, aka Lucian E. Worley-Stone, 1960)
Amazon Books (Amazon Services, LLC, 2009)
Internet Book List - Author Information: Donna J. Stone (Steven Jeffery, 2008)
Open Library - Author Information: Donna J. Stone (Internet Archive, 2009)
Library Thing - Authors: Donna J. Stone (Tim Spalding, 2005)
aNobii - Books: Wielder of Words by Donna J. Stone (aNobii, Hong Kong, 2007-2009)
Goodreads - Books: Wielder of Words by Donna J. Stone (Otis Chandler and Goodreads, Inc., 2004)
Shelfari - Books: Wielder of Words by Donna J. Stone (Shelfari, Inc., 2006-2010)
PeopleQuiz - Biographies and Quizzes about Famous People: Donna J. Stone, American Poet (Innovative Ambitions, LLC, 2010)
Find A Grave - Famous Memorials: Donna J. Stone (Jim Tipton and Find A Grave, Inc., 1995)
Wielder of Words.com (Christopher K. Stone, 2010)

External links