Barry Stone - Athlete, community leader, ISHA chair

Former ISHA chairman Barry Stone passed away peacefully on May 25, 2024, at the age of 89, with his family by his side.

Barry was raised in Woodmere, Long Island, N.Y. He graduated from Woodmere High School in 1952 and was honored as a charter member of the school’s Alumni Hall of Fame. He played basketball for the University of Vermont (UVM), graduating in 1956, and served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, which included a stint playing basketball on the Fort Monmouth, N.J., team.

Barry and Carol were married in 1957 and Barry began his insurance business career in Manhattan. For 12 years he commuted from Westchester and drove every weekend with his family to Stowe, Vermont. The family moved to South Burlington in 1970, where Stone established an insurance sales agency and took an active role in philanthropy and community services. He served as chairman of the Chittenden County United Way campaign, chairman of the Stern Center for Language and Learning, director of the Franklin Lamoille Bank, director of Banknorth Investment Management Group, president of the Burlington Rotary Club, and president of the Burlington Tennis Club, where he was the 1987 recipient of the club’s Burt Kusserow/Ellen Wilkins Award. In 1995 he received the MS Society Hope Award for outstanding community service. He served as chairman of the UVM Regional Board, chairman of the UVM Athletic Hall of Fame Selection Committee, chairman of the UVM Athletic Council, founding executive committee member of the UVM Victory Club, member of the UVM Foundation Leadership Council and key fundraiser for many university projects. He was a recipient of the UVM Distinguished Service Award and received the UVM Athletic Department Award for his contributions on behalf of his beloved UVM men’s basketball team. He was a member of several varsity basketball head coach search committees and readily gave his physical, emotional and financial support to generations of UVM basketball from the 1950s to the 2020s.

Stone was named Vermont state chairman for the United States Olympic Committee. He later became northeast regional chairman with a seat on the USOC National Finance Committee. He cofounded the USOC Olympic Ski Challenge at Stowe, which was recognized by the USOC as the most successful state-run Olympic team fundraiser in the nation during the 1990s. He served two terms as chairman of the state of Vermont Sports Hall of Fame and, after his retirement from the board, was honored as the recipient of the David K. Hakins Award and inducted into the state hall of fame.

After founder Mason Beekley’s death in 2001, ISHA experienced several years of financial instability. Stone stepped up as chairman of ISHA’s board of directors in 2008, and worked with president/treasurer John Fry to put the association on a sound financial footing, despite the global financial crisis of the era. By 2011 ISHA’s finances were sorted out; Stone stepped down and was honored with ISHA’s Special Achievement Award. He was also a longtime member of the National Voting Panel for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, and was a Vermont delegate to US Tennis Association New England.

Barry and Carol were loyal Stowe skiers but also skied throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. His passion was heliskiing in British Columbia; he skied well over a million vertical feet with CMH. He made his final heli-skiing descent on his 80th birthday but continued lift-served skiing until age 85. In 2000, he raced in the National Senior Games in Lake Placid, placing fourth in the age 65 and over giant slalom and fifth in the slalom. He regularly raced in NASTAR and won gold medals in almost every senior age bracket. One of his proudest race results was in 1978, when Barry and his daughter, Judy, were bronze medalists in the Equitable National Father-Daughter Ski Championships in Snowbird, Utah. In tennis, he was the 1991 singles silver medalist in the 55-and-over division at the National Senior Games held in Syracuse, New York. In 2005 he competed at the Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv, Israel. During the 1960s, he won several championships in the NYC suburbs and, beginning in the 1970s, numerous Burlington Tennis Club championships in singles, doubles and in mixed doubles with his favorite partner, Carol.

The family would most appreciate a gift to the Jeff Stone Memorial Fund, c/o the UVM Foundation, 411 Main St., Burlington, VT 05401. There will be a celebration of life at UVM's Davis Center on October 5th.