Evelyn Stone

Evelyn Stone age 98 of Alexandria died on Thursday, November 26, 2015 at Bethany Home in Alexandria. A funeral service will be held for her on Monday, November 30, 2015 at 11AM at the Living Word Lutheran Church in Alexandria. A visitation will take place one hour prior to the service at the church on Monday. Interment will be in Kinkead Cemetery. Evelyn Borghild Wibeto was born to Joseph and Dorthea Wibeto on November 10, 1917 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her father was the Sunday School Superintendent and her mother was the volunteer social worker at Ebenezer Lutheran Brethren Church during most of Evelyn’s childhood. She began taking music lessons when four years old, by the time she was ten she was playing the organ for services in her home church. From early childhood Evelyn longed to be a foreign missionary. After graduation from Roosevelt High School she studied at the Lutheran Bible Institute, Augsburg College, and Fairview Hospital School of Nursing. Evelyn married Rev. Arnold Stone during the Armistice Day blizzard of 1940. A son, Dale Martin, was born to this union in 1942 and a daughter, Dorayne Joanne in 1944. They served parishes in Lake City, Minnesota and LaCrescenta, California. Pastor Stone received a call to join the faculty of the Lutheran Bible Institute and taught in Seattle, Minneapolis, and Teaneck, New Jersey. Their last parish was Redeemer Lutheran in Fridley Minnesota. Evelyn taught Sunday school and Vacation Bible School for forty-five years. She was also a leader in Cub Scouts, Brownies, and Girl Scouts. Evelyn loved to write. She wrote pilot films for television, for the Good News Club, and had many articles published in various magazines. She also wrote plays, skits, and pageants for church. At one time she was president of the Minnesota Christian Writer’s Guild. A member of the Piano Teacher’s Forum, she taught piano and organ. As an active member of the International Student Fellowship, she helped foreign students secure employment and housing while attending college. She accompanied the Fridley Civic Chorus, and designed props and costumes for their productions. Evy enjoyed sewing school uniforms for children in Africa, making clothing for welfare recipients, and designing special clothing for people in halo casts. Following their retirement in 1979, Evy and Arnie moved to Alexandria. During that time they traveled around the country representing the Lutheran Evangelism Movement, Evy presented programs for children of the attendees of the conferences. Among her numerous hobbies: quilting, hardanger, embroidery, rug hooking, charcoal sketching, ceramics, writing stories for children, china painting, cake decorating, knitting, rosemalling, Bible study, reading, and travel. She and her husband were competitive and played games nearly every day, keeping a running score. She would take on all comers in Scrabble and enjoyed beating them soundly. She memorized every “Q” word in the English language. Among the many groups that Evelyn joined were: Priscilla Circle, Retired Pastor’s and Spouses, Red Hat Society, and Weavers Guild. She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, two sisters and her husband. She is survived by son, Dale, daughter Dorayne (David) Sorbel; four grandchildren John (Theresa) Sorbel, Karen (Ryan) Tollefson, Matthew (Sarah) Stone, and Andrew Sorbel; and six great Grandchildren Erik Sorbel, Kate and Annika Tollefson, and Elias, Evelyn and Josiah Stone.

Evelyn Stone

November 10, 1917 - November 26, 2015