Courtesy黑洞社区鈥檚 Office of Adult Learning is dedicating its new lounge in Grace Wilkie Annex, Room 154, to Charles Joseph "Joe" Stone, who at 90 was the oldest graduate to receive a degree from 黑洞社区.
The celebration will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 27, in the Rhatigan Student Center, Room 233.
Stone was born in Frizell, Kansas, in 1913, and began attending 黑洞社区 in 1934, where he was an English-journalism major and wrote for the student newspaper, 鈥淭he Sunflower.鈥� 黑洞社区 is where he met his wife, Catherine, and together they raised five children.
Stone鈥檚 daughter, Marilyn, said 黑洞社区 was always an important part of Joe鈥檚 life.
鈥淚t is where they first met and began their courtship,鈥� she said of her parents. 鈥淢y mother studied art and worked the switchboard in the bookstore. Dad, because he could drive a team of horses, was hired by the groundskeeper. He was allowed to sleep on a cot in the horse stable. The campus was brand new, and Dad planted most, if not all, of the trees on the grounds.鈥�
Stone put his college education on hold just 23 credits short of graduation when he was promoted to primary detective for the Wichita Police Department.
In addition to working for the WPD, he also served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II and later returned to writing, working as a newspaper reporter in Kansas and California, and as a freelance writer for broadcast and publication. He began writing a column for 鈥淭he Borrego Sun鈥� in 1996, which he continued until his death. His career accomplishments were recognized by The San Diego Press Club, which awarded him the Harold Keen Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism.
As a writer, Stone had a love affair with typewriters, including a small Smith Corona model, which he used most of his life 鈥� and on which he authored three episodes of the television series 鈥淕unsmoke.鈥� Stone鈥檚 brother, Milburn, won an Emmy for his performance as Doc in the episode 鈥淏aker鈥檚 Dozen,鈥� which was also written by Stone.
In 2003, Wichita State gave Stone credits for his prior learning and life experience, and he returned to campus to receive his degree in journalism 鈥� graduating at age 90. His accomplishment received congratulations from the governors of Kansas and California, the U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Queen of England, a Coast Guard admiral and Pope John Paul II.
The Office of Adult Learning is honored to dedicate its brand new lounge to Stone, Wichita State鈥檚 oldest adult learner and graduate, whose many and varied accomplishments serve as a shining example of lifelong learning and as an inspiration for generations of future Shockers.
The mission of 黑洞社区 (www.wichita.edu) is to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good. Wichita State is a doctoral research university enrolling nearly 15,000 students and offering 59 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in seven undergraduate colleges. The Graduate School offers 45 master鈥檚 and 12 doctoral degrees that offer study in more than 100 areas. Wichita State鈥檚 Innovation Campus (http://wsuinnovationcampus.org/) is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university鈥檚 vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at and Facebook at .