Obituary: Huntley "Bucky" Joseph Stone, of Easton

Information and Photo Courtesy Shaughnessey Banks Funeral Home

EASTON, CT — Huntley Joseph Stone, known as "Bucky" by his family and friends, passed away in Easton on December 3, 2018. He is survived by his wife, Kyle I. MacGillivray, and children, Huntley M.D. Stone "Dylan" and Cordelia M. Stone "Lia", as well as his sisters, Carolyn Johnson of Boulder, Colorado and Cordelia Stone of LaPorte, Colorado.

Bucky, the youngest of three children, was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on November 2, 1950 to Huntley and Marolyn Stone. His family then moved to Easton.

Growing up, Bucky attended Samuel Staples Elementary School, was very involved in Little League (played short stop as a lefty for the Hawks), and taught swimming lessons to hundreds of children in his backyard pool. Some of those "children" would later become Bucky's Easton business associates!

He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1968, and from Princeton, cum laude, in 1972, where he was awarded the Isidore Brown Thesis Award for his thesis "Towards A Sociology of the Circus" - not a totally surprising topic given his local Connecticut heritage. He subsequently earned his law degree from Boston University in 1975, and was admitted to the Bar in 1976.

After law school, Bucky chose to return to Easton where he would eventually settle and raise his family and swore he would never leave his hometown. He married Kyle MacGillivray, in Scarsdale, New York, on August 13, 1977. His children, Dylan and Lia, were born in 1989 and 1997

.Practicing law was Bucky's first career, starting at Pullman & Comley, LLC, then at Bodine and Stone. He then chose to move on to real estate investment and management. This gave Bucky a more flexible schedule, allowing him to direct more of his energy to matters important to the Town of Easton.

Bucky gave back much to his local community over the years. He was a member of the Region 9 Board of Education from 2005-2009 where he served as Secretary 2005-2007 and Chair from 2007-2009. He was on the Easton Conservation Committee and was a life member of the Historical Society of Easton. He was also a member of the Easton Democratic Town Committee and served as Treasurer for two years.

Ironically, after having attended Samuel Staples Elementary School some 45 years earlier, he went on to co-chair the building committee for the new Samuel Staples Elementary School that was completed in 2005. The building was written up in the New York Times for its innovative unique design, so appropriate to Easton. Bucky was particularly proud that the project was completed on time and under budget.

Sports were always a core interest to Bucky, particularly soccer and baseball. Many will recall his passion when his favorite teams played (the Yankees in particular). He was President of the Easton Horseshoe Club, and he combined his love of sports with another of his Easton childhood passions by becoming President of the Easton Little League.

Bucky frequently challenged conventional positions, hoping others would consider alternate solutions to a problem. This would often earn him either the admiration or the ire of those who knew him! He loved a good rational debate, especially one that might result in a better course of action. His witty comments, humor, direct manner, and intelligence, whether at the poker table or a committee meeting, will be remembered and missed by his family, his friends, and many residents of Easton, in the hometown that meant so much to him.

In Bucky's memory donations may be made to Easton Baseball League, c/o Bill Bardani, 38 Soundview Drive, Easton, CT 06612 or gifts may be made to the Phillips Exeter Academy Class of 1968 Scholarship Fund in memory of Bucky, and mailed to Phillips Exeter Academy, 20 Main St., Exeter, NH 03833.A date will be set to celebrate Bucky's life. To send an online condolence, please visit www.shaughnesseybanks.com.