Wilfred Stone was born in Bishop, CA to Francis Stone Sr. and Gertrude Duckey Stone on April 23, 1962. He was raised on the Bishop Paiute Reservation with his siblings Arlene, Francis Jr., Harlan, and Eric. As a youth he played Little League baseball and traveled with the Bishop Boxing Club to many matches. He graduated from Bishop Union High School where he played football. After high school he joined the Army, did his basic training in Fort Leonard Wood, MS, learned to rebuild engines at Fort Sill, OK, and trained as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC.

When he returned to California, he started his career as a wildland firefighter, first on the Sequoia National Forest and then coming home to Bishop to work on Engine 32 on the Inyo National Forest until his retirement in 2018 after 27 years of firefighting. In his early career he set a running record at the Interagency Wildland Firefighting Academy that stood for many years.

In 1986 he welcomed his first daughter, Arlene Stone. In 1994 his daughter Florence Gertrude Stone was born. In 2006 he met his wife Heather and they were married in 2011. In 2013 their daughter Toya Sana’vi Stone was born. All his daughters were his pride and joy. He also delighted in his grandchildren Jake, Jaycee, and Janae Summers and Kawika and Noemi Freeman.

He was proud to be a member of the Bishop Paiute Tribe as well as his ancestry with the Big Pine Paiute Tribe and the Washoe Tribe. He was a skilled hunter and had traversed most of the canyons and summits of the eastern Sierra, White, and Inyo Mountains as well as many ranges beyond. He was also a mechanic who could fix anything from a diesel truck to any kind of small engine. He spent the years since retiring from firefighting working in the small engine shop at High Country Lumber.

He left us suddenly on February 23, 2025. He is survived by his wife Heather Stone; his three daughters Toya Sana’vi Stone, Florence Gertrude Stone and spouse James Freeman and their children Kawika and Noemi Freeman, and Arlene Stone and spouse Richard Summers and their children Jake, Jaycee, and Janae Summers; his parents Francis Stone Sr and Gertrude Stone; and his sister and brothers Arlene Montoya (David Silva), Francis Stone Jr. (Rosalie Frimbres), and Thomas Eric Stone (Karen Howard). He is also survived by his uncles Ross Stone (Rossella), Raymond Stone Jr. (Londa Goodell), Jonathan Stone, and Luke Stone (Janet); his aunts Felicia Andreas and Ramona Morrison (Michael); and many cousins and nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his brothers Harlan Stone and Jimmy Williams; his grandparents Raymond and Evelina Stone and Clarence and Florence Duckey; his uncles Thomas Stone, Anthony Stone, Gordon Duckey, and Howard Duckey; and aunts Loritta Stone-Parsons, Marleen Clarke, and Barbara Jones.

A Cry Dance will be held on Saturday March 8th at 628 N Paha Ln starting at 8:00 pm. All are welcome. Services will be held on Sunday March 9th at the Barlow Lane Gym starting at 11:00 with a luncheon to follow.