Opelika father awaiting kidney passes

“It was a perfect day,” said Lorraine Eaton of Sunday’s Father’s Day holiday she and her siblings, Tom Jr. and Kim, spent with their dad, Tom Stone.

Sadly, it would be their last.

Stone, 63, a 14-year employee of the Auburn Post Office who was featured in a Father’s Day story published in Sunday’s Opelika-Auburn News, passed away Monday after suffering a heart attack.

A 22-year U.S. Army veteran, Stone had battled diabetes and kidney failure and was on the National Kidney Registry as he endured weekly dialysis treatments.

Eaton said her family enjoyed a barbecue with their father on Saturday and took him out to eat on Father’s Day.

After telling his wife, Kim, he didn’t feel well Monday, Stone was taken to the East Alabama Medical Center, where he later passed away.
“He just never recovered,” Eaton said.
While the grief of losing a husband and father is fresh, they will treasure the memories of their father’s life and their final Father’s Day together.

“It was really good to know that we got to have that final time together,” said Kim Riggs.

“We’re very thankful for what we had in our father,” Eaton said.

Stone’s funeral service is Friday. For details, see the Wednesday’s edition of the Opelika-Auburn News.