MARILYN KRESSER STONE

Marilyn Kresser Stone was born August 10, 1935, in Rochester, NY, to Donald and Mary Kresser and died April 26, 2021.

She attended Catholic elementary school and graduated in 1953 from the all-girls St. Mercy High School in Rochester, New York. While in school, her mother bought her first horse for her with the agreement that Marilyn would feed and care for her every day. After school, Marilyn caught a bus from Rochester to the property where Lollipop Farm now is where her horse was stabled. She walked from the bus stop to the stables and spent the remainder of each day riding, grooming and feeding her mare. Then she walked back to the bus stop to arrive late in the city.

After high school graduation, she worked the night shift at Chase Lincoln Bank in Rochester and trained horses during the day. She was hired in 1975 by Comstock Food Processing Company as supervisor for the Data Processing Center. She later became the Supervisor of I.T. for the company as it became Birds Eye. She held that position until retirement in 1991.

Marilyn’s deep love for horses influenced her becoming one of the originators of the NY Paint Horse Association. In 1977, she purchased a Paint Horse stallion and began breeding quarter horse mares to increase the paint horse population. She became a con sistent quarter horse and paint horse winner in shows in NY & Pennsylvania from the 1960s to 1990.

Marilyn was a certified Quarter Horse and Paint Horse judge and traveled from Florida to New Hampshire judging horse shows. The majority of shows were in New York and Pennsylvania. She was in high demand as a judge and well-respected as a show contestant.

After retirement, Marilyn traveled through Texas and fell in love with Bandera, “The Cowboy Capitol of the World.” In 1993, she sold her home in Macedon, New York, loaded her three horses and settled into her 10- acre home and barn location on Hwy 3240 in Bandera. She remained there with several Paint and rescue horses until 2016.

Marilyn was a huge help to The Esther Benedict Gallery and also worked in the office there. She always gave her all to everything she did.

During Marilyn’s years in Bandera, she became very active in helping with the establishment of Brighter Days Horse Refuge. She was instrumental in creating the outdoor pens in very few days so the horses could be moved from their former location in Boerne to their new home in Pipe Creek.

Marilyn was a true animal lover and volunteered for several years at CCPAL, Bandera’s dog and cat shelter, when it was on HWY 16. She arranged for a grant to spay/neuter area dogs and coordinated all calls and funding, thus preventing the birth of hundreds of unwanted puppies.

A memorial service will be held May 22nd, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at the Pipe Creek Presbyterian Church in Pipe Creek, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, Marilyn’s wish would be that any donations be sent to Brighter Days or CCPAL.