Emily Ellen Stoner died unexpectedly in her sleep May 18, 2008. She was born in Seattle on January 13, 1978, lived all her life in Renton, and graduated from Kentridge High School in June 1997. After high school, she volunteered as an assistant in a class for severely developmentally disabled students at Jenkins Creek Elementary. She went on to take classes at Highline and Bellevue Community Colleges, and in recent months was working with a job coach.
These bare facts do not begin to capture Emily’s spirit and enthusiasm. She had a bubbling sense of humor, often centered on the most atrocious puns—a skill passed on by her father, Tom. She was an avid amateur volcanologist, geography buff, piano student and music lover, square dancer, computer enthusiast, technology aficionado, and relentless learner. She briefly dabbled in “guerrilla art,” working in media as diverse as daffodils and pink flamingos. Her lifelong passion for foreign languages guided her to positions of responsibility in several high school language clubs.
Her effortlessly outgoing nature endeared her to everyone she met. Completely devoid of social fear, she could strike up a conversation with a perfect stranger as easily as a close relative, and come away in ten minutes with that stranger's life history and an enduring connection.
She was a legendary correspondent, tracking down old acquaintances on the Internet and dashing off emails to them in her own inimitable style, missives that would amuse even the most jaded.
Always demonstrative of her love for others, her relatives often joked that they should put her through a "hug-and-release" program to reduce the risk of rib injury from her embraces.
A facet of her personality not known to everyone is that she adopted the nickname "Liz" for herself. This was based on the name of a speech therapist in fifth grade whom she held in high regard, and it was because the variations that could be derived from “Emily” did not meet her requirements. Her parents were not eager to consider a legal name change, but Emily kept “Liz” alive for twenty years using it often as her signature on email, text messages, and almost anywhere she wanted to identify herself.
She is survived by her parents, Tom and Carol; brother Evan; sister-in-law Laurel Taylor; niece Elspeth; aunt Margaret; uncles Ray Jacobsen and Steven Shipley; grandmothers Julie, Ellen Shipley, and Fran, and her grandfather John.
A memorial service was held on June 8th, 2008, at St. Elizabeth Episcopal Church in Burien. Select eulogies from the service are transcribed here:
Tom and Carol Stoner, her parentsRay Jacobsen, her uncleEvan Stoner, her brother
In lieu of flowers, memorials to Northwest Harvest, PO Box 12272, Seattle WA 98102 or the King County Library System Foundation, 960 Newport Way NW, Issaquah WA 98027 would support organizations dear to Emily’s heart.