Celebrating a Life Well-lived

Today we celebrated the life of my longtime friend, Karen Stone.

I met her when her then-fiancé brought her to church (Community Presbyterian in San Juan Capistrano). However, as we talked, I realized that we probably had met years earlier. Growing up, she attended the Monterey Park Methodist Church. My best friend, Kathleen Murphy, also went to that church. It was an active congregation. They presented musical events, luncheons, and plays. Throughout high school, I attended most of them with Kathleen. So did Karen

Eventually, she and Jeff Stone were married and became a part of the large, active couples’ group at the church.

I learned early on that music was very important to both of them. Karen played the marimba, and before long, she began to play for the church talent shows, worship services, and other events, accompanied by Armand Stephanian on the drums.

Jeff also played several instruments, so their shared love of music was a special bond.

For many years, Jeff hosted “The Ragtime Show” on local station KSBR on Sunday nights between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. Through this interest, he and Karen began to attend the annual ragtime convention, where they made many friends who shared their passion.

Their musical interest didn’t stop there, however. They were members of the Laguna Folkdancers. Karen invited us to join them, but our schedule never seemed to allow us to do so. They also took dance lessons: western, ballroom, etc. We were also invited to join them for this activity.

Both were active in social justice issues. They belonged to a group called Beyond War, along with several others in the congregation. They were instrumental in having a Peace Pole installed at CPC.

Karen’s service today was held at the Neighborhood Congregational Church in Laguna Beach, where she and Jeff became members when they moved to Laguna Hills. As we parked, I noticed a Peace Pole there as well. I smiled to think that either it was there to welcome her and Jeff when they arrived, or they lobbied to have one installed there. In either case, she had found a new home.

But she never completely left CPC. She attended many events there even after she moved her membership.

Karen worked part time in the office at Community Pres in SJC for about eight years, from May of 1983 until about 1991. Virginia Webb and she shared the position until the church hired a fulltime office administrator.

She was always a joy. She worked under Rev. Robert Schwenck. At the time, Sunday bulletins were hand-typed, laid out on large boards, taken to the printer, and proofed. Then volunteers folded them on Friday afternoons. My mother, Vera Mansfield, was one of the volunteers. She and Karen became close friends. For several years, Karen, Darla (the bookkeeper), and Virginia took Mom for lunch on her birthday. Mom loved Karen.

She attended many of the church’s women's retreats at Wylie Woods Presbyterian Conference Center. Even after she and Jeff moved to Laguna Hills and began to attend the Neighborhood Church, she came to every one.

Karen was a terrific photographer. She took photos at each retreat and put them together on a large poster. A couple of weeks after each retreat, the ladies led worship based upon the theme for the weekend. One of Karen’s posters always greeted us on an easel as we entered the sanctuary for the service.

She also mounted her photos on notecards. I purchased some from her and looked forward to receiving a note from her on one in the mail. Karen was a lovely correspondent.

She let us borrow some of her photos for the 100^th anniversary book we created in 2019 for the church (Community Presbyterian Church of San Juan Capistrano: 1919-2019 – 100 years of History). Of course, Karen attended the events of the anniversary weekend. She and Jeff are both featured in the book since Jeff designed and installed the first sound system in the sanctuary.

Until her death, Karen remained a faithful member of the CPC Prayer Chain. She often emailed or called me for more information about a prayer request.

At eleven years old, in 2003, my friend’s daughter was diagnosed with a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy. It only affects children, and it is always fatal, usually within two years. We put Emily on the CPC Prayer Chain. I occasionally sent updates. However, Karen subscribed to Emily’s Caring Bridge site. She called me occasionally—especially when Emily’s condition worsened. Against all odds, Emily lived until 2019 when she was twenty-six! Much longer than anyone had expected. You can read Emily’s story here.

When we received the news that Emily had passed away, Karen called me, and we wept together. Through all those years, Karen prayed faithfully for Emily, just as she did for many others.

Karen was proud of the charity her mother created: Mary Erickson Community Housing. Because of Karen, CPC has supported this organization for years.

Karen was a gentle warrior, fighting for justice. She was kindness personified, but she had strong beliefs and did not hesitate to express them. However, I never heard her raise her voice. She was a good and faithful friend, loving wife, and stepmother to Kathy and Chris. She had a radiant smile and gentle nature. And I am proud to have called her friend. I shall miss her.

Pennies From Heaven

 When we were cleaning out my brother’s home in September of 2020, we found coins—mostly pennies but a few dimes, nickels, and quarters, too--EVERYWHERE. They were in drawers, on every flat surface, in containers, and under the sofa cushions. His nightstand was piled with them, and they overflowed on the floor. When his friend emptied the closet, he found some in rolls. I told him to take them to his bank and deposit them in his account.

We put the loose ones in a jar and brought them home. After they were all rolled, we had over $50 in change. The bank was delighted to have it.

I NEVER carry change. I pay for most things with credit cards, rarely with cash. If I occasionally get change from a purchase, I put it in a piggy bank I keep at home just to avoid carrying the heavy stuff around.

As we left Ron’s place on the last day, I turned to Larry. “I expect to find coins from time to time from my brother.”

I have.

A month or so later, I walked out to put some trash in the bin. I looked down and found a penny. Just then, two dragonflies flew by closer to me than I have ever seen them. I remembered the scene Larry had written in Dominic Drive describing chasing them as a boy. This was the book Ron started and we finished. I took this appearance of a coin on my driveway and the dragonflies to indicate Ron was happy with the book.

In July of 2021, we attended our first writing conference in several years. As we left the hotel, I looked down. There was a shiny quarter. During the conference, we had been talking about Dominic Drive. I presumed my brother was happy.

Another morning, I met a friend at the marina for our early morning walk. As I opened the car door, I spotted a quarter. We had made a large donation to City of Hope in Ron’s memory shortly before, and I presumed he was glad about it. (His doctor, who took great care of him, was affiliated with the hospital.)

Ever since Ron died, I have been in touch with his precious neighbor. She really cared for him and took him meals about once a week because she knew he wasn’t eating well.

Ron disliked small children, but he made an exception for her son, Chris. Ron thought of this boy as his buddy. They got together to talk about cars. He had mentioned this young man several times in conversation. In fact, he talked about him during our last phone call.

Ron had LOTS of “toys”—mostly RC cars, car models, etc. When we found those, I put them out on the porch and told Chris he could take whatever he wanted. He did.

Ron also loved the family dog. She would occasionally escape. They never had to wonder where she was. Ron never closed his sliding door. Several times while we were talking on the phone, he would interrupt. “Here’s my dog. I have to go.”

He loved the dog, and she loved him.

Just over a month after Ron died, the dog died as well. I felt sorry for the whole family, but especially for Chris. First, he’d lost his buddy and then his dog.

The story grew worse, however. In January of 2021, his father was killed in a drive-by shooting as he was leaving his aunt’s house. The killer has never been caught.

This was the same dear, sweet family man who had discovered Ron’s body the morning he died.

I checked in with his wife from time to time and made a couple of donations in Ron’s name to the Go Fund Me account, which was started for the family.

I heard from her in early December. She said the holidays would be rough. Larry and I decided that we would send them a nice check so the kids would have a little extra for Christmas.

The next day, as I got out of my car at the marina, there was a quarter next to the car on the ground. Yep. He was happy about our decision. I told her the story and said the gift was from Ron. (I inherited all his assets, so this was the truth.)

Last week when we were at Disneyland, we had a long wait for the monorail. While we waited, we talked to another man who, like us, had been to Disneyland in the early years and continued to go often. We told him about the description in the book of a family trip to Disneyland in 1964.

When we reached our car at the end of the day, right next to my door was a shiny penny from 2020 (the year he died). It definitely hadn’t been there when we left the car earlier in the day. Yep, he was happy we were talking about the book he had imagined.

I have been putting “Ron’s” coins in the cup holder in the car.

They make me smile whenever I see them. So far, I have found three quarters and two pennies. Each came at a significant time. Maybe they were just coincidence, but I like to think they are messages from my brother.

I have other friends who believe they receive indications that their loved ones are still around. One sees butterflies. Another spots purple flowers and cardinals. Still another told me about seeing two birds at her kitchen window each morning for months. She felt they were there to let her know that her son and husband were together.

Have you ever had signs from a loved one? What were they?

Being Interviewed

 

In October of 2020, we were interviewed by our friends Janet Lynn and Will Zelinger. They are also a married couple who write together, just like us.

We ran into them at several writers’ conferences and other events. We have spent time together and discovered we had a lot in common. They subsequently became dear friends.

Their podcast is called “Chatting with Authors.” They interview some of their friends and favorite authors. We had been interviewed on several other podcasts previously, but this one was especially enjoyable.

This Friday, Janet and Will are featuring our interview again. If you missed it the first time, you can find it here: https://youtu.be/xcYwJKHOJj0

Want to learn more about us as authors? Watch this interview.

Janet’s homepage is: Janet Elizabeth Lynn home page (janetlynnauthor.com)

Will’s is: Will Zeilinger Author page

They write mysteries. They often set theirs in historical Los Angeles. If you are interested in "visiting” early Los Angeles, their books are well-researched, reflecting real places and people.

You can follow their podcast to learn about new authors you may not have read—yet!

Hope you will tune in to learn more about us.

You can always see our interview on our website: https://www.lornalarry.com, and you can learn about our books there.