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<p><em>John Robert Stone</em> was born in Dallas, TX on June 12, 1956 to proud parents Beatrice and Robert Stone. He adored his older sister, Margaret. His mother remarried in 1964, and they moved to Beaumont, TX. He took the last name of his stepfather, Fox. John Robert Fox earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He also earned two gold palms, a significant scouting achievement. Later moving to Overton, TX, he graduated as the valedictorian of his Overton High School class.</p>
<p>As a cadet, we remember him as “John” or “J.R.” or “Foxy.” After West Point, he preferred to go by Robert. Robert exhibited high spirited behavior. He had a Texas drawl a mile long and a belly laugh you could hear from one end of Central Barracks to the other. Robert was a Juice hive. He pushed the limit on hair length. He wore those big 70s style wire-framed glasses. He had a penchant for food; his rotundness didn’t cut a lean figure in the class uniform. No worries, he wasn’t striving for Striper Dog. Robert maintained a rough Texas swagger. He was a prodigious coffee drinker, even having a coffee maker in his room in the barracks. He smoked constantly and always had a fight with the weight issue. The following amusing stories give us a fond remembrance of him:</p>
<p>B-3, plebe year—J.R.’s roommates included Pete Eschbach and Jay Misenheimer. J.R. was easygoing with a “good ol’ boy” sense of humor. With his thick Texas drawl, he found the pronunciation of German words challenging. Pete remembers hearing “Guten tag, y’all.” Despite being on the heavy side and enjoying those smokes, he passed all the plebe OPE courses and graded tests and was a pretty good athlete. One Saturday after a snowstorm, J.R. suggested that he and Jay go over to the ski slope to “figure out how to ski.” Being from north Texas, he had seen very little snow, and he was fascinated by it. He started out tentatively, going slowly down the beginner’s slope. Within half an hour, having received no instruction from anyone, he moved on to the intermediate slope. For the next couple of hours, he went down that slope at breakneck speed without falling even once. As they headed back to barracks, J.R. winked at Jay and said, “Boy, that was pretty fun!”</p>
<p>With the company shuffle, Robert became an E-2 Dog, nicknamed “Foxy.” The TAC, Major Greenhouse, had a good bit of gray hair, and Foxy was a major contributor. Foxy earned E-2 Dog Immortal Greatness with a late-night sortie involving his car. Foxy had a big car, longer than an aircraft carrier, and around taps he managed to plow his behemoth into a row of parked cars across from Grant Hall. Three of those cars were owned by underclassmen, not yet permitted to have cars on post! Multiple slugs all around—instantly famous across the Corps! Foxy earned the suicide slug, 120 hours. Foxy wore out several pairs of shoes and lost a bunch of pounds walking accelerated tours. During June Week, he had Old Grads taking his rifle and marching with and for him. He walked right up to graduation, turning in the rifle, picking up his saber, and double timing up the hill to Michie. A cry went up from his classmates as he found his place in line, just before we headed in.</p>
<p>Foxy’s encounter with the Area says something about his inner character. No one thought he could possibly wreck the cars, complete the hours, and graduate with the class, but he did. He applied his math genius to figuring out the path to completing his hours so he could do so. His story is one of being underestimated or mischaracterized due to his plump appearance, while time and again his actions and accomplishments defied those perceptions. This speaks to his inner strength in contrast to the outward appearances on which many base their estimates of others’ capabilities. Foxy taught others to always have a special place in their heart for the underdog. When applied to command philosophy, it serves the Army well: time and again an underestimated soldier will rise to the occasion and make their unit great. </p>
<p>Robert attended ADA OBC at Fort Bliss, TX, then shipped out to 2-67th ADA in Mannheim, Germany. He served as a platoon leader in B Battery and commanded A Battery. While in Germany he met the love of his life, Judy, who was a civilian teaching overseas. They were married in December 1982. Robert resigned his commission on June 8, 1983, and they returned to Texas. He began work as a quality engineer with Texas Instruments. A son, Luke, was born in 1984. Robert earned an MBA from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. His civilian career included various moves between Dallas, Plano, and Carrollton. Robert and Judy attended our 20th class reunion, where classmates who didn’t personally know him remembered the multi-car pile-up! Robert changed his last name back to Stone in 1999. A reservist, he retired with the major’s oak leaves in 2001.</p>
<p>Robert was a devoted husband to Judy and a dedicated father to Luke. He was a volunteer Scoutmaster and a proud witness to Luke earning the rank of Eagle Scout. He loved his dogs and attending church with Judy. Robert passed away suddenly in November 2017, aged 61 years.</p>
<p>John Robert Stone was a diamond in the rough. He loved his family, Texas, and the United States of America. John, J.R., Foxy, Robert: you are “Proud and Great”. Rest in Peace, Brother.</p>
<p><em>— John Scott ’78 and classmates</em></p>
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