As children, Chrissy and Katie Stone were never afraid to visit a hospital.
“They couldn’t wait. Katie fell at Lake Storey one time and had to spend a couple of days at the hospital,” their mother, Jackie Stone, said. “You know, piece of cake. No fears.”
The sisters’ nonchalant attitude toward hospitals may have been because both their mom and aunt were nurses and their dad, Steve, an EMT.
There were frequent trips to the hospital so Chrissy and Katie could visit their mom. Jackie’s career spanned 45 years at the same local hospital. At home, Chrissy and Katie enjoyed dress-up and pretend play that revolved around health care.
“Katie used to dream of having a home just for handicapped people,” said Jackie. “That was her dream to have all of her friends in a house — or even our house — and put Steve and I in the nursing home because we would be older.”
Born in August 1981, Katie was enrolled in a program for infants up to 3 years of age to help with speech development and walking.
“She didn’t grow up realizing that she was handicapped,” Chrissy said. “We always knew she was the center of our world.”
Katie enjoyed attending various community schools and socializing with friends.
“She came home when she was a teenager and I heard her turn the washing machine on,” Jackie said. “I said, ‘What are you doing? And she said they taught me at school how to do laundry, Mama.’”
Katie graduated from Knoxville High School in 2000, an achievement that made her proud. Always tenderhearted and kind, Katie’s willingness to help others led her to become a hospital volunteer. She enjoyed shopping, especially at the hospital gift shop. In later years, one of Katie’s favorite movie characters was Woody from “Toy Story.” She had a life-sized Woody doll that would go everywhere with the family, including their vacations.
It was early 2021 when Katie fell ill.
“She never had a positive COVID test, but she had an X-ray that would show COVID lungs,” Jackie said.
Katie’s health continued to decline. She passed away in August, her beloved Woody doll placed inside her casket.
“She affected so many people’s lives in a very positive way,” Chrissy said.
To honor her memory, the family chose to create the Katie Stone Memorial Scholarship through the Carl Sandburg College Foundation to help students entering Sandburg to study nursing. Memorial contributions were collected and placed toward the scholarship. Money that Katie never had a chance to spend from her recent birthday party was also added.
“It’s always important to give back. I mean, that’s just part of life,” Jackie said. “You have to be generous and kind.”
The Stone Family Scholarship assists first-year associate degree nursing (RN) students who reside in Knox County with their educational expenses. In addition to being in memory of her sister, the scholarship is personal to Chrissy, a Sandburg alumna and assistant professor of nursing at the College.
“This is a fantastic way to honor somebody’s legacy,” Chrissy said. “I know. I see the needs. I wish we had a Katie Stone Scholarship for everybody. You do what you can for people. There’s such a huge need, and people are trying so hard to better themselves, find a career, find a path for themselves. Katie would love to know how much this scholarship will help someone in their nursing path. I think that people do not know the impact that a scholarship has on somebody. They don’t know how much that means to them.”
Donating to Sandburg
To learn more about how you can become a Sandburg scholarship donor, contact the Carl Sandburg College Foundation at 309.341.5349 or foundation@sandburg.edu.
Read this story and more in the 2022 edition of the Sandburg Magazine