Joan Elford Stone, of Tryon, N.C., passed peacefully away the morning of April 19, 2014.
Born in Northumberland, England, Oct. 14, 1921, Joan enjoyed an idyllic childhood and pursued her love of painting, receiving her art training in London at Central School of Arts and Crafts and Chelsea School of Art, studying under Bernard Meninsky, John Farleigh and Sir Ruskin Spear.
In the late 1940s, she married and emigrated from England and arrived in the United States, living mostly in Atlanta, from 1950 until 1998, visiting London and returning to the Continent every few years.
In 1998, Joan moved to Tryon, telling her friends and family it felt as if she had returned to the English village of her childhood.
In her professional art career, in which she also instructed; Joan enjoyed working mostly in oils and watercolors.
Exhibiting both regionally and nationally, she received numerous awards for her work. Today, her paintings remain in both private and corporate collections worldwide.
She was an associate of Gallery V in Roswell, Ga., a member of the Atlanta Artists Club and the Georgia Watercolor Society. In Tryon, associated with the Tryon Artists and Sculptors, she drew inspiration from the surrounding countryside and continued to produce award-winning works until her retirement in her late 80s.
She was preceded in death by her father, Captain Herbert Charles Elford, her mother, Elizabeth Robertson Elford, and brother, Herbert R Elford. Survivors include her children, Nicholas Stone of Alpharetta, Ga., Katy House, of Landrum, S.C., Roger Stone of Fairhope, Ala., and Pam Stone, of Landrum, S.C.; grandchildren, Christy Ellsworth, Courtney Fuller, Andy Stone, Henry Stone and six great-grandchildren.
A celebration of her life will be held at Holy Cross Episcopal Church, Tryon, where she had been an active and cherished member, on Saturday, May 17, at 2 p.m.
An online guest register is available at www.mcfarlandfuneralchapel.com
McFarland Funeral Chapel