October 1, 1965 – December 29, 2023
William Leon Stone, 58, of La Porte, TX, passed away unexpectedly on the morning of December 29, 2023.
Preceded in death are his maternal grandparents, Winfred Leon and Juanita Anderson and his paternal grandparents, Jack and Mildred Stone, his uncle Roger Anderson and his cousin Jennifer Anderson.
Left to cherish his memory is his wife, Lisa, daughter, Taylor, parents, Howard and Wonda Stone, sister Mondee and her children, Heather and Laik, mother and father-in-law, Bobby and Rose Sauseda, sister-in-law Delores and her children, Leland, Justin, Kamryn and Rio, sister-in-law Sonya and her children, Mia and Tony Christian, brother and sister-in-law, Robert Lee and Reyna and their children, Brianna, Elias, Lola, and Christian, and aunts, uncles, countless great nieces and nephews, cousins, and friends he considered family.
Born on October 1, 1965 in Eureka, CA, Willy, as he is known by his close friends and family, moved to Texas in 1974 where he attended school and ultimately graduated from La Porte High School in 1983. It was during his high school years that he met many of his lifelong friends while participating in football and theatre.
Soon after graduation, Willy joined the U.S. Navy and served as a sonar technician aboard the U.S.S. Spruance DD-963. He was noted as being the youngest sailor to attend the sonar school in Norfolk, VA. During his service in the Navy, Willy traveled the world protecting the country he loved so dearly.
Shortly after his discharge from the Navy, Willy met the first great love of his life, Lisa, in College Station, TX. They married on January 27, 1990. On March 14, 1995, Willy became the proud father of the second great love of his life, his beautiful daughter, Taylor.
Willy enjoyed sports and absolutely loved volunteering as a coach for the La Porte Cowboy’s little league football team. As Taylor began playing sports as a child, Willy coached for the La Porte Girls Softball teams and then later, volunteered as softball coach for Taylor’s private school, Baytown Christian Academy. Willy enjoyed dove hunting, riding his Harley, traveling with Lisa and Taylor, and spending time with his family and friends.
Willy, Lisa and Taylor became active members of Mary Queen Catholic Church in Friendswood, TX in 2017. At that time, Willy and Lisa had a convalidation of their wedding vows. At Mary Queen, he teamed with ACTS (Adoration, Community, Theology and Service) a committee designated to strengthen men’s faith. He teamed with RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) to assist non-baptized men and women enter the Catholic Church. He served as an integral member of the church’s Pastoral Council. Willy was a devout member of the church and held close his church family and friends.
Willy spent his adult career within the oil and gas industry and most recently served as the Director of Estimating at Albemarle.
Willy was adored, loved and cherished by his entire family and friends. He always had a kind word and people were always drawn to his hilarious sense of humor, his knowledge of virtually any topic, and his sweet demeanor. Forever a steadfast music lover, Willy lived his life like a song till the very last breath all "for the stories we could tell."
Friends are cordially invited to the visitation with the family on Thursday, January 11,2024 from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. with the rosary to begin at 6:00 P.M. at Jeter Memorial Funeral Home, 311 N. Friendswood Dr., Friendsowod, TX 77546 (281) 992-7200.
A funeral mass will be held on Friday, January 12, 202 at 10:00 A.M. at Mary Queen Catholic Church, 606 Cedarwood Dr., Friendswood, TX 77546. Interment will follow at Mt. Olivet Catholic Church in Dickinson, TX.
Pallbearers will include Denny Beacham, Alan Corley, Laik Dugue, Dee McCown, Terry Moser, Robert Lee Sauseda and Norris Weir.
Condolences may be sent to the family in care of Jeter Memorial Funeral Home at www.jeterfuneralhome.com.
22 thoughts on “William Leon Stone”
I only knew William a short time, less than a year, but his wisdom, quips and smile will be sorely missed. We spoke at work, at length, over a range of topics. My last communication with him was on 12/12/23, and I remarked that I had not received "my daily wisdom".
His opinions were always well founded; which he always ended with a quip and mischievous grin. He constantly spoke of the things that he held dear: his wife, daughter, coaching his daughter, and his faith. His continual pursuit of understanding embodies Psalm 49:3.
Rest in peace, my friend, you are missed.
Our family is So sorry to hear of his loss. So many good times with this man and our boy's growing up under him coaching. My thoughts and prayers are with his friends and families through this difficult time. 💔🙏😘
My deepest condolences to you all. I have no words that could ease the pain of losing such a beautiful person. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Sending my deepest condolences to the family. I just loved Willy, what a great guy in so many ways. I am so glad I had the pleasure of giving him a hug recently and introducing him to one of my sons. Our reunions will never be the same without him. May God bless and keep you all.
Stone was an incredible person. He and I were two peas in a pod on the USS Spruance for 18 months. One day we were walking. We both were tired of walking. We walked onto a used car lot and purchased a raggedy used Chevy Vega for $500. A few months later we were in Spain, France, Italy, Africa, and I believe we were the last sailors to visit Yugoslavia.
I know Stone loved his wife and daughter. I can only imagine what life's is going to like with out his smile. My prayers are with the family.
Willy was my “work dad” for the nearly 10 years we worked together. He was so knowledgeable in his craft and freely shared the plethora of information he had. Even after we moved on to working for different companies, we were in communication picking each other’s brains for work related questions or just chit chatting and catching up on life. I will never forget when how he immediately knew I was pregnant with my second child. We would go downstairs and have lunch together most days and I would eat super healthy. When I found out I was pregnant, I started to be more free in what I ate. He looked at me one day and said, “Don’t take offense to this, but you’re pregnant aren’t you?”. I just stood there shocked because I had no idea how he would know that. I couldn’t lie to him, so I confirmed his suspicions and asked him how he knew. He told me that the only reason I wouldn’t care about what I ate was if I knew I was going to gain weight no matter what , and there’s only one way that was going to happen! I laughed, and we would laugh about that often over the years. He spoke with so much joy of his family and would always tell me that these years I spend with my kids will be the best years, as he had so many great memories coaching Taylor and going to all of her events. He even came to watch my daughter sing earlier last year. I know that the heartache his family feels is unimaginable, and I am praying for peace and comfort for them. I will remember Willy for the rest of my life. He is one of the best people I’ve ever known and I will miss him and his storytelling so much. Rest in eternal peace, Willy. I have no doubt that you are with our Heavenly Father. Until we meet again, thank you for sharing your light with the world.
My deepest condolences to Lisa and Taylor and all of Williams family and many friends. I met William as we both went through RCIA classes together prior to joining the Catholic church. I'll always remember how easily he made friends and put people at ease with a witty comment or a hilarious story. He was a person deeply committed to his family, friends, and his faith, as anyone who spent 10 minutes with him would gather. I'm glad to have known him. Rest in peace, brother.
My deepest condolences to the family. Although it has been only less than a year that I've known William through work, he quickly became my mentor. His sense of humor with the wisdom and experience he shared during the time I got to know him will be truly and dearly missed. My deepest sympathies and prayers go out to the Williams family.
I first met William at Shell Deer Park in 2007 and later at Albemarle in 2021. As both of us were with estimating background, we worked closely together in estimating assurance, benchmarking, and peer reviews. He was good at both high level and detailed level of all project cost estimates. He was always helpful and would share all the data that he had. We really lost a great estimating guru.
William, thank you for being not only a great coworker, but also a true helpful friend. You will be greatly missed. Rest in peace, my friend.
My heartfelt condolences to the family and may our dear Lord comfort you all. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
To the family of William Stone, a valued colleague and a good friend, he will be greatly missed in Clearlake office.
William was my functional peer and held a great wealth of knowledge which we all appreciated since he was not shy to share it. He had an witty sense of humor and you would always see him surrounded by colleagues who wanted not only to learn from him but just be around to have a splash of his humor and positive energy.
Rest in Peace, William. You will be definitely missed.
Ulviyya
William Stone was a valued colleague of mine in Albemarle and LyondellBasell.
He had a wonderful sense of humor and a knowledge which all of us appreciated and were eager to tap into.
Rest in peace, William. You will be missed in Clearlake.
~Ulviyya
I was lucky enough to get to work with William. Even luckier, I was able to spend some time outside of work with William. We got to travel a bit together, so there were quite a few meals that we shared. Dinner always included discussion about family. There are very few fathers and husbands that were as happy with their role as William. He was truly honored to be the Lisa's husband and Taylor's father. As many of you know he was a fantastic storyteller, but he was happiest when he was bragging about his girls.
Heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Willy’s family and friends. We lost a wonderful person, who has touched so many. I will miss him deeply and how he always brightened a day with his humor and warm spirit. So sorry for your loss and know Jesus has welcomed William home! God Bless, Phillip
My condolences go out to my cousin Lisa and her family; I’m very sorry for your loss. I’ll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. May William rest in peace and god bless you all.
Rest in Peace my Brother.
My sincerest condolences to Willy’s family and friends.
I am Blessed to have shared over 45 years of awesome, crazy and enduring friendship and adventures with Willy.
He was one of the best friends I’ve ever had in my life.
Stone was one of a kind and his friendship will be sorely missed, but never forgotten. The wonderful memories I have of him will always be cherished.
Rest in His Peace my good friend.
Love ya Brother!
William is a cherished man, we enjoyed every interaction we had with him. He always arrived with a smile and had the best stories to share. The love he had for Lisa and Taylor was always apparent. Our thoughts are with them during this time.
My thoughts and prayers are with Willy’s family and the countless number of lives he touched. It’s so hard to find the words to describe the man….the incredible human that he was. He was genuine, kind, thoughtful, selfless and hilarious. Willy was the perfect example of how we should all strive to live and of how we should treat each other. I’ll be forever grateful for his friendship. Rest easy my friend. We will all miss you so much.
Love ya…..Karen Sue
I met William during my RCIA journey at Mary Queen a few years back. He was a wonderful guy, always greeted my wife & I with a huge smile and had such cheerful presence. We will truly miss running into him after Sunday Mass. May God bless his soul and please watch over Lisa & Taylor through this difficult time. Prayers to the entire family and all that are mourning. Until we meet again, love and miss you brother.
My deepest condolences to the family. I had the chance to work with William within the last year and found him a knowledgeable and kind person. He will be truly and dearly missed. I offer my deepest sympathies and prayers.
My heartfelt condolences to William's family and friends. I'm deeply sorry for your loss. William was such a wonderful spirit who always kept everyone laughing effortlessly. Sadly, I only had the opportunity to work with him for a short time and it won't be the same without him. I will miss talking history and sports, specifically the Texans and Saints! My thoughts and prayers are with you all and may you find peace and strength in the memories you shared and knowing you have gained a truly special angel. God bless you all!
My deepest condolences to William’s family and friends. I had a brief opportunity to connect with William through work in which he left a profound memory as a kind and knowledgeable person. Rest in Peace William, you will be missed.