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Stoner devoted life, work to Tyrone

Borough’s former mayor dies at age 86

Mirror file photo by J.D. Cavrich / Former Tyrone Mayor Pat Stoner dips ice cream for 6-year-old Mason Swabick at Park Avenue Park in Tyrone in July 2010.

Mirror file photo by J.D. Cavrich / Former Tyrone Mayor Pat Stoner dips ice cream for 6-year-old Mason Swabick at Park Avenue Park in Tyrone in July 2010.

TYRONE — Pat Stoner loved Tyrone.

Patricia “Pat” Stoner, 86, died Sunday at her residence.

She moved to Tyrone in 1965 when she and her husband, Reynolds “Ren” Stoner, whom she married in 1950, bought the Fiesta Dairy store on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Stoner, a lifelong Democrat, was always interested in politics.

She got her first “job” in politics in 1976 when she accepted a part-time job in the office of then-state Rep. Michael Cassidy of Newry. She later worked as a special assistant to state treasurer and then-Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll.

During her career, Stoner served as chairwoman of the Democratic Party in Blair County and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

“She was certainly a very dedicated Democrat. She was very interested in the principles of the party. She was not reluctant to express those feelings. She always felt that the Democratic party was the party of the people,” said Frank Rosenhoover, a former Blair County Democratic Party chairman.

In 1997, a bipartisan group asked Stoner to run for mayor. She won on both tickets as a write-in candidate and ended up serving eight years as Tyrone’s first female mayor. She later served a term on borough council.

During her time as mayor, it was her finesse about grants and governmental procedures that brought grant funding into the town to secure businesses and allow for a much-needed new look to the downtown. In addition, she brought soccer to the town as part of the school curriculum, cleaned up playground areas, and was instrumental in offering a workshop for children interested in theater.

She worked relentlessly to secure a hotel and highlight the outdoor recreational assets of the Tyrone community.

“She was all for the town, a business-oriented, community-oriented person. She was very passionate about what she did. I worked closely with her when she was mayor and with the streetscape. She applied for grants for that project. She started the streetscape project, and the corner park (City Hotel Park) was her idea. She was the driving force behind that,” said Rose Black, executive director of the Tyrone Area Chamber of Commerce.

“Pat was fantastic. She was hands-on. She was full of energy and did a lot of good things for the community. She was responsible for the streetscape program. She did what she could do to entice new businesses to come into the community. She was always full of excitement and energy,” said Gary McGovern, who served as council vice president when Stoner was mayor.

Virgie Werner, who served several years on borough council, said she was Stoner’s best friend and traveling companion.

“Once she moved to Tyrone, she adopted our community. She loved Tyrone. She took such an interest in the borough. She was always looking for projects to make it a better town. She wanted Tyrone to grow and prosper and have the nicest looking downtown. She was always after money. She always had a project in mind,” Werner said.

Former Blair County Commissioner Donna Gority, a fellow Democrat, knew Stoner well.

“She always was involved in the community. She was always an advocate for Tyrone when she was mayor and after she was mayor,” Gority said. “She was always dressed beautifully. Her gorgeous white hair was always in place. She was an inspiration for all of us. She was a beautiful woman inside and out.”

Stoner had served on the board of directors of the Blair County Chamber of Commerce.

“Pat was a lady I very much admired. As a community leader, she was relentless in her promotion of Tyrone and Blair County. When you look at the many good things that have happened in Tyrone during the past two decades, most have Pat Stoner’s name on them. Tough when she needed to be but very gracious and kind. Another significant loss for all of us,” said President and CEO Joe Hurd of the Blair County Chamber of Commerce.

Victim/Witness Coordi­nator Sue Griep in the Blair County District Attorney’s office, a Tyrone native, said she knew Stoner her entire life.

“She was a remarkable woman, someone I am proud to call a friend, a mentor, a colleague. She has been a beacon of light in the community for many years. Whatever Pat was involved in or whatever she was doing, she made the difference by her presence. Her passion and love for Tyrone not only benefited our community, but our county, and for that we are grateful. She was a visionary. She was a pioneer. She stepped out to make things different and better for this town she loved,” Griep said. “Pat was the epitome of a servant leader and a champion among women. She blazed trails.”

Friends will be received at the Feller Memorial Home from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the Church of the Good Shepherd, with the Rev. Eric Shafer officiating. Interment will follow at Oak Grove Cemetery.

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