John K.P. Stone, III, known as “Nick,” of MacMahan Island, Georgetown, Maine, died on April 17, while enjoying his daily walk. He was born on December 12, 1932, in Summit, New Jersey, as the first child of Dorothy W. Stone and John K. P. Stone, Jr. He grew up in neighboring Short Hills, where he attended local elementary and intermediate schools. In 1950, he graduated from The Pingry School in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He then matriculated at Princeton University where he graduated cum laude in English, rowed on the varsity heavyweight crew and graduated in 1954.
He then enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard Officer Candidate School at New London, Connecticut, and received his commission as an ensign in 1955. He served as C.I.C. and then communications officer on the 327-ft. U.S.C.G. Cutter Duane on ocean station and search and rescue duty in the North Atlantic, and later as operations officer at the captain of the Port of Boston. In 1958, he resigned from active duty and matriculated at Harvard Law School, graduating in 1961.
Nick then joined the Boston law firm Nutter, McClennen & Fish, where he practiced tax and corporate law and served in several senior management positions. In 1988, he joined the firm Hale and Dorr, where he continued to expand his corporate practice. In 2002, approaching the firm’s retirement age, he accepted a position as general counsel and vice-chairman of the board of one of his clients.
Throughout his career, Nick was active in many pro bono activities, including serving as a member and chair of the Marblehead Planning Board and, later, of the Marblehead School Committee. He was instrumental in organizing Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc., in Lynn, which was one of the first such organizations in the country providing free legal services to the poor. He also served as a member of the board of overseers and executive committee of the New England Aquarium, a member of the Corporate Advisory
Committee of the Museum of Fine Arts, a director and treasurer of the Lincoln and Therese Foundation, a director of the Essex County Community Foundation and a member of the vestry of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Salem. Nick also served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead.
From his earliest summers on MacMahan Island, Nick developed a love of the sea and of boats, and he sailed extensively. He also contributed his legal and business experience to the MacMahan community, serving on its board of directors, various committees and as president. He also served on the board of directors of the Georgetown, Maine, Historical Society.
Following his retirement in 2005, Nick took up the writing of poetry, which came to occupy a large part of his life. His book of poetry “Fragments” was published in 2017, “Seaward” in 2022, “A Distant Shore” in 2023 and “Another Shore” in 2025.
Nick is survived by his wife Erin and his brother Jim, his children John K. P. Stone, IV (“Kip”), Elizabeth G. Stone and Nathaniel W. Stone, his grandchildren Skyler, Jessica and Celeste Merrill and Theo and Thierry Oliver Stone, his stepchildren Kasey, Marsey and Zeke Pendexter, and his step-grandchildren Kai and Finley Pendexter and Theo Powell. Nick’s youngest brother, David, died in 2013 and his sister, Dorothy (“Decie”), died in 2024.
A memorial service will be held on MacMahan at a time to be determined.
