A special article today. Greg Renoff, author of Van Halen Rising, has been asked by the widow of original Van Halen bassist, Mark Stone, to post something about Mark on social media. We’re sharing it here on VHND, so that she can read the comments, thoughts, and memories posted online about her dear, late husband…
“Darlene Stone — the wife of the late Mark Stone, who was Van Halen’s bassist in the very early days of the band — asked me to make the below post, which she authored, in memory of her husband. Mark passed on this day, 26 September, five years ago.
“For my part, I want to say thank you to Mark for everything he did to build such a strong foundation for The Mighty Van Halen.”
Five years ago on this day, my husband Mark Stone passed away. Then just ten days later, his friend and former bandmate Ed Van Halen passed away. It was crushing and heartbreaking to lose Mark, and it felt surreal that Ed departed so soon after Mark.
To remember them both, I wanted to share a picture taken on a very special day back in February 2014 when Ed & Alex Van Halen came to our home for a visit. I have such wonderful memories of that afternoon. The four of us had a great visit and laughed a lot. Mark was so happy to have his two dear friends in our home, reminiscing about the gigs they played together, first as Genesis, then as Mammoth, and of course as Van Halen.
I wanted to take this opportunity to share a little about who Mark was as a person and as a family man. Mark was a loving, gentle, supportive stepfather and grandfather. He handed down his work ethic to my son Chris, who today has his own business. I should add that Mark was such a fun-loving, wonderful grandfather. He’d do anything for our grandchildren. Our grandson even did a report at school on Mark! We all miss him so much.
In his work life, Mark was a gifted craftsman. He worked construction as a finish carpenter and project manager. He loved working with his hands. He did a lot of work at the home of the Fasching family (owners of Fasching’s Car Wash in Arcadia). They considered him family! And at home, he was so handy. He could fix anything! In his spare time, Mark also built beautiful basses.
Even though he loved playing bass, after Van Halen he turned down lots of offers to join other bands. He told me that playing with other people just didn’t feel right, because after playing with Ed and Al, nothing else could compare. I can only imagine how tough that was for him to leave Van Halen. I know he wished he could’ve stayed in the band and that he had hopes that he might get the chance one day to play live with them one last time.
Mark got to enjoy a special day when Greg did his Van Halen Rising book signing and launch party at T. Boyle’s in Pasadena in October 2015. Mark signed books for a lot of Van Halen fans, got to meet Van Halen’s producer Ted Templeman, and got to play live with the guys in Fan Halen! That was a magical experience for Mark.
In closing, I want to say thank you to the Van Halen family for being so supportive of me. Soon after Ed passed, Alex and his wife Stine came my house and comforted me as I grieved the loss of Mark. They were so wonderful. I am so amazed at how incredibly strong and brave Alex was to write Brothers as he mourned the loss of Ed. In addition, I want to express my gratitude to Wolf Van Halen for the many kind things he’s said about Mark.
I miss Mark so much. I like to think that right now he and Ed are together again in another place and time, jamming, just like they did in the garage in Altadena when they were just kids.
–Darlene Stone.
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