• Courtesy Photo
• Joyce Stone

On Thursday, April 1, 2021, Joyce Elaine (Gamble) Stone, beloved mother of two and grandmother of four, passed away at the age of 76.

Joyce was born in West Chester, Pa., on July 9, 1944. Her father was a mushroom farmer in Kennett Square, Pa., where she was primarily raised. She was the first in her family to graduate college, earning a BA in Spanish from Dickinson College. She went on to get her master’s degree in Latin American studies from Tulane University. It was at Tulane where Joyce met her future husband, William Stone. They married in 1971 and had two children born in Boston. They later moved to St. Louis before settling in Vermont, where Joyce lived for over 30 years. She moved to California in 2018 to be closer to her daughter.

In her remarkable life, Joyce was a freedom rider, traveling to the South to register voters. She was an avid reader and traveler, and she spoke Spanish and French fluently. During her long career, she sustained deeply productive relationships with high school students she encountered throughout her many years as a teacher and administrator. She developed teacher and administrator leaders who today still lead within and outside of her home base, Colchester School District. She was deeply committed to making schools inclusive and equitable through differentiation in heterogeneous classes. She endorsed Meticulous Attention to Detail and championed the acronym MAD — which she often was as she confronted obstacles to improving schools. She served as a mentor to countless administrators throughout Vermont and demonstrated understanding and empathy for all she encountered. She had a passion for living, cultivated a tight circle of friends, was artistically gifted, and spent time with her beloved cats, Ziggy and Honey Bee.

Joyce is survived by her sister, Linda (Gamble) Shepherd, of Landenberg, Pa.; her ex-husband, William Stone, of Oaxaca, Mexico; her children, Kevin Stone (Debbi) of Tampa, Fla., and Emily Stone (Ram) of Oakland, Calif.; and her four granddaughters, Katherine Stone, Kira Stone, Olivia Stone and Jillian Sriharsha.

In lieu of flowers, please send your support to the Joyce Stone Scholarship Fund, c/o the Colchester School District, 125 Laker Lane, P.O. Box 27, Colchester, VT 05446. Please write “Joyce Stone Scholarship Fund” in the memo line. All donations will be awarded to a Colchester High School senior who will attend college to become a teacher.