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STONE -- SIDNEY N. Long-time resident of Los Alamos, Sidney N. Stone, died surrounded by his family on July 9, 2011 at the age of 89. Sidney was born in Syracuse, NY. He built his first telescope at age 11, grinding his own mirrors. While studying Astrophysics at Cal Tech, he became friends with well-known astronomer Edwin P. Hubble, who helped place him as a ballistician and optical physicist at the Ballistic Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD from 1944-1950. During this time he pioneered the early optical tracking instrumentation at White Sands Proving Grounds, NM. After the war, he attended the University of California at Berkeley, earning his BS, MS, and PhD in Astrophysics. While at UC Berkeley, he met Marcia McClain, whom he married in 1951. In 1957, Sidney accepted a position at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in Los Alamos, NM, where he participated in nuclear weapons testing experiments at the Nevada Test Site and the Pacific Proving Grounds at Johnston Island. He also participated in airborne solar eclipse expeditions in the Pacific in 1965 and North Central Africa in 1973, and he participated in rocket-borne X-ray astronomy experiments at White Sands Missile Range in 1982. He was a member of NM Governor's Scientific Advisory Committee from 1962-1967, as well as a founding member of the Los Alamos Committee on Arms Control and International Security. One of his last projects was lost aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986. While living in Los Alamos, he and Marcia became charter members of the Unitarian Church there. Sidney was an active folk dancer, skier, and tennis player, often winning the #1 ranking in New Mexico for his age group. Sidney retired from the Los Alamos Laboratory in 1985, and he and Marcia moved to Albuquerque in 1990, where they were active in many organizations, including Oasis, Friendly Philosophers, Humanist Society of New Mexico, Rio Grande Jazz Society, Albuquerque Little Theatre, New Mexicans for Science and Reason, and the Albuquerque Astronomical Society. They were both honored as Humanists of the Year in New Mexico in 1995. Sidney and Marcia enjoyed traveling around the world until her death in June 2009 after 58 years of marriage. Sidney is survived by his daughter Susan Stone and her husband, Jeffery Mather, of Savusavu, Fiji Islands, and his younger daughter Wendy Shray, her husband, Steve, and their two children, Aaron and Julia, of San Carlos, CA. A Memorial is scheduled for Saturday, October 15th at 1:00 p.m. at the German-American Club located at 4821 Menaul NE, Albuquerque. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation be made in his memory to the American Humanist Association, 1777 T Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20009-7125
        Published on: Sun October 02, 2011