T. Clarence Stone

Thomas Clarence Stone (January 19, 1899 – January 16, 1969) was an American businessman and politician.

Early life Thomas Clarence Stone was born on January 19, 1899, in Stoneville, North Carolina, United States to Robert Tyler Stone and Mary Hamlin Stone. He was a brother of William F. Stone. He graduated from Stoneville High School in 1914 and subsequently attended Davidson College, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1919.

Stone married Jane Kane on August 25, 1925, and had one daughter with her, Mary. His daughter was killed in a car accident in 1947,

Business career Stone worked as secretary and treasurer of the Stoneville Grocery Company and the Superior Oil Company. He also owned an insurance firm.

Political career Stone first held office as a town commissioner of Stoneville before becoming its mayor. He then served seven terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1935 to 1947. While there he befriended and closely collaborated with Representative John W. Umstead Jr. Following his daughter's death, he became a vocal proponent of highway safety legislation. 1957, 1961, and 1963 sessions. and assumed the responsibility of presiding over the body, as the office of Lieutenant Governor was vacant. He had a poor relationship with the press, and banned journalists from standing on the floor of the Senate in the North Carolina State Legislative Building, forcing them to sit in the gallery. Newspapers were particularly critical of him when he worked to have laws altered so he could assume the Lieutenant Governor's salary while presiding over the Senate.

After Perry Martin finished his objections, Stone called for a final voice vote on the bill, despite three other legislators standing up to be recognized, and ruled that it had passed. Luther Hamilton rose afterwards to object to Stone's failure to recognize the opponents to speak, to which the President of the Senate responded by daring Hamilton to call for a vote to overrule him. This did not occur, and the bill passed.

Later life In 1967 the North Carolina Highway Commission named a seven-mile-long portion of North Carolina Highway 770 the T. Clarence Stone Highway. On January 6, 1969 he was admitted to the UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, suffering from hemorrhaging ulcers. He died on the morning of January 16 due to the bleeding and several complications, including pneumonia.