CSU engineering alum dies in OSU homecoming parade tragedy
One of the victims in the Saturday, Oct. 24, tragedy during Oklahoma State University's homecoming celebration in Stillwater was a Colorado State University alum.
Marvin Stone received his B.S. and M.S. in Agricultural Engineering in 1973 and 1977, respectively. He later received his Ph.D. in Engineering Science from Washington State University and taught at OSU in the Department of Biosystems and Agriculture Engineering for more than 20 years until his retirement in 2006. He was recognized earlier this year at a Congressional reception in Washington, D.C., for his contributions to his field.
Stone and his wife, Bonnie, were killed when a car driven by a 25-year-old woman plowed into a crowd of spectators at the OSU homecoming parade. Two other people died in the crash and dozens of others were injured. Bonnie Stone also had a long career at OSU, working in the Institutional Research and Information Management department for 33 years.
Meagan Smith, a coordinator with CSU's One Water Solutions Institute, attended OSU as an undergraduate student before earning her master's degree in Civil Engineering from CSU in 2012. Smith took classes with Dr. Stone and once traveled with him and other classmates to Italy as part of an international studies program. She called the couple "the most honorable people I've ever known in my life. They were very hands-on, both of them wanting to educate the next generation of engineers."
Marvin Stone received the McCormick-Case Gold Medal Award for "exceptional and meritorious engineering achievement in agriculture" in 2010 and was inducted as an American Society of Agricultural and Biological Science Engineers Fellow in 2004, an honor earned by only two percent of the organization's members.
"Knowing he was a CSU alum makes me even more proud to have studied with him and have known him," said Smith. "It makes me proud to know our connection goes beyond our time at OSU together."