Jerome H Stone

He began working in the family business when he was 15 years old and a student at Schurz High School. He joined his father and older brothers in what was then J. H. Stone & Sons, which bought and re-sold shipping supplies. By about 1979, Mr. Stone was no longer involved in day-to-day business operations, but remained on the board and on the executive committee until the 1990s, when Stone merged with Jefferson Smurfit Corp. to form Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. Smurfit-Stone was bought in 2011 by RockTenn Co. Stone leaves behind a legacy of philanthropy, particularly with his work at AA, which he founded in 1979. His desire to create the organization and cure the disease began after his wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 1970. When he found there were few resources available aside from some support groups, he knew he had to do something to help others suffering with the disease. The first official meeting of AA was on December 4, 1979, when Stone met with researchers, physicians, caregivers, and a group of seven independent groups interested in forming an organization dedicated to fighting Alzheimer’s. Stone is survived by his wife Marion, and his three children Jim Stone (of Winnetka), Ellen Stone Belic (the late Nenad Belic) and Cynthia Stone Raskin (of Chicago) and seven grandchildren Meg, Emily, Phoebe, John, Dara, Julie, Maia and four great-grandchildren Annabel, Alexa, Joey and Oliver.