STONE, Avis (Rome) Stone, of Bloomfield, beloved wife of Sheldon M. Stone, died Monday, February 16, 2009 in an automobile accident. Born in Hartford on August 7, 1932, she was the daughter of the late Milton ‘Mutzie’ and Ruth (Borden) Rome. She lived in Bloomfield for more than 50 years and for over thirty years was a beloved teacher to hundreds of young children at the Mandell JCC’s Beatrice Fox Auerbach Early Childhood Center. She was an avid UCONN Husky Basketball fan, a voracious reader, and loved to cook and spend time with her 6 grandchildren. Besides her husband she leaves her children and their spouses, Ellen ‘Elena’ Stone and Tom Rawson of Cambridge, MA, Aren Stone and Mary Ann Kowalski of Cambridge, MA, David Stone and Karen Stone of Southington, and Jennifer Stone and Bob Pirrie of Storrs. She was very proud of her six grandchildren, Eli Kowalski, Adam Stone, Isabel Rawson-Stone, Miles Stone, Casey Stone-Pirrie, and Maribel Rawson- Stone. She is also survived by her brothers and sisters-in-law, Jerald and Sandra Rome of West Hartford, and Lou and Ann Rome of Peabody, MA. She was the center of a large extended family who will cherish their memories of her. Funeral services will be held Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 1:00 pm in the Chapel of the Weinstein Mortuary, 640 Farmington Ave., Hartford with Rabbi Marshal Press officiating. Interment will follow in Knesseth Israel Synagogue Cemetery, Ellington. A memorial period will be observed at the home of Jerald and Sandra Rome, 63 Lovelace Drive, West Hartford, Thursday following the interment through Friday afternoon. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Avis Stone Playground, c/o The Mandell Jewish Community Center, 335 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford 06117. For further information, directions or to share memories of Avis with her family, please visit online at www.weinsteinmortuary.com.