MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Luther French Stone, 85, of Water Valley, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday at 2 p.m. in the Henry Chapel of Seven Oak Funeral Home with burial in the Paris Cemetery. Visitation will be on Wednesday from 1 p.m. until service time at Seven Oaks Funeral Home, which is in charge of arrangements.

Born in Yalobusha County, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy at 17 and served all over the world on 15 different vessels cruising from the Arctic Circle to China and multiple duty stations in the U.S. After retiring from the U.S. Navy as a chief petty officer, he moved to Memphis to raise his family. He worked for many years at the Firestone rubber plant and later owned and operated his own garage in Southaven until retiring to his farm in Calhoun County.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by three sisters, Ida Marie Brown, Sarah Elizabeth Martin and Margaret Ann Lantrip; and two brothers, William Leonard Stone and James Thomas Stone.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Ann Stone of Banner; daughters, Yvonne Ware of Germantown, Tennessee and Michele Stone of Southaven; sons, Thomas R. Stone and Timothy R. Stone, both of Southaven; brother, Kerrah L. Stone of Louisville; nine grandchildren and16 great-grandchildren.