About John "Stoney" Dionne
September 15th, 1952 - August 22nd, 2009
John H. “Stoney” Dionne, “The one that does so much for so many” died Saturday, August 22, 2009 at Mid Coast Hospital at the age of 56. He was born in Brunswick on September 15, 1952, a son of Wilfred J. and Juliette M. Richard Dionne. He attended St. John’s School and graduated from Brunswick High School in the class of 1971. While in high school he belonged to the Crusade Capers Band. Stoney worked at Bath Iron Works for 31 years and had served as President of Local Union #6. During his service as Union President he received a ring from President Bill Clinton during a visit to the shipyard. In his 30’s, as a musician, he had a one man band that he would play at weddings, lounges and several other venues. In addition to playing music, Stoney was also an artist and enjoyed painting. He was a sign painter and operated “Stone Man Signs”. He loved his motorcycles and 29 years ago, a group started by him would meet at Danny’s on the Brunswick Mall and ride. This eventually led to what is known today as “Stoneys Lobster Run”, which the money raised would benefit various children’s cancer programs, and was very well known across the state. He made many friends from all walks of life and accepted people for who they are. He had attended St. John the Baptist Church and had served as an alter boy in his youth. He faithfully served his country in the Army National Guard. He was a member of the Topsham Post#202 of the American Legion, the Brunswick Elks and the Knights of Columbus. He is survived by his parents of Brunswick; his soulmate and companion, Margaret Murphy of Topsham; his son, Eric “Pony” Dionne of Woolwich and his companion Jenny; two brothers, Richard “Dick” Dionne of Gorham and his companion Jeannine, and Robert “Bob” Dionne of Brunswick; three grandchildren; one niece and one nephew. Visiting hours will be from 2 to 4pm and 6 to 8pm Tuesday, August 25 at the Brackett Funeral Home, 29 Federal Street, Brunswick. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11am Wednesday at St. John the Baptist Church, Pleasant Street, Brunswick. Burial will be private. Donations in his memory are requested to the Maine Children’s Cancer Program, 100 Campus Drive, Scarborough, ME 04074.
BRUNSWICK — The scene outside St. John the Baptist Church on Pleasant Street Wednesday morning resembled a biker rally.
Men and women in black leather and sunglasses lined the parking lot and church steps, the air ringing with the roar of motorcycles before the sound gave way to the chiming of the church bells, signaling the start of the funeral service for John "Stoney" Dionne of Topsham.
Dionne, who died at Mid Coast Hospital on Saturday, Aug. 29, after a fight with cancer, certainly had friends. His impact on people during his 56-year life was evidenced by the hundreds of people who filled the church pews, and his love of motorcycles was reflected in the hundreds of gleaming bikes glistening in the sun outside the church.
Dionne was known as a man who found freedom with two wheels on the road and his head toward the sky. He was also remembered as a tremendous giver to those in need, particularly children with cancer. Turning a motorcycle-riding tradition with friends into a money-making engine for charity, he started Stoney's Lobster Run nearly 30 years ago. The Brunswick-to-Boothbay event ultimately attracted thousands of bikers from across the country.
Seeing the money the event was generating, Eric "Pony" Dionne said, his father looked for the best use for it in Maine.
"He was a helper," said Pony, who spoke on Monday with two of his father's friends, "Grizz" Galipeau and Steve Marois, at a frequent Brunswick hangout, Cuddy's Bar & Grill.
"A lot of people think that bikers are a bad group of people, but this man didn't have a bad bone in his body," Galipeau said. "I mean he gave, gave, gave, and he had such a big heart."
Dionne knew Galipeau and Marois through Bath Iron Works, where he worked for 31 years and served for a time as president of the shipyard's largest union, Local S6. It was during that time that he met Bill Clinton during the U.S. president's visit to BIW, and received a ring from him.
Born and schooled in Brunswick, Dionne's talents included music, which he played at weddings and in lounges, as well as art. He was a sign painter who operated Stone Man Signs.
The many facets of his life also included time spent as an altar boy, as well as service in the Army National Guard. He was a member of the Brunswick Elks, the Knights of Columbus and Topsham Post No. 202 of the American Legion.
Pony Dionne said his father got word he had cancer on June 4. "Like he said, in May he didn't have a care in the world except where his front wheel was gonna take him and where he was gonna get his next Budweiser," Pony recalled. "A week later he was fighting for his life."
Still, Pony said, his father retained a positive outlook. While he couldn't ride in this year's Lobster Run, he was driven along in a limo and "felt really good about it, he enjoyed himself, he was in good spirits."
Pony also recalled his father saying many times that if he died tomorrow, he wouldn't change anything.
"He always said he wasn't here for a long time, he was here for a good time," Pony said, adding with a smile that his father was the only man he knew who could be in Heaven and get away with raising hell.
Stoney Dionne was a guy who would keep you laughing all the time, Galipeau said.
"He was just a jokester," Pony Dionne agreed. "He could bring everybody's spirits up."
After his father's death, Pony took a long ride. "I'm gonna miss riding with him," the son said.
One memory of his father of which he was most proud came after Stoney was diagnosed, and there was talk of some of the Lobster Run money going toward his own battle with cancer.
"Man, he was adamant that it was going to the kids," Pony Dionne said. "That's just the heart that he has."
Galipeau said Stoney's Lobster Run will go on. There will also be a new part of the Lobster Run called the Bandwagon, created by Stoney and Rick Lewis of the band Twyce Shy, through which bands will donate and raise money so that people undergoing issues similar to Stoney's can receive funds for something like a doctor's second opinion, Marois said. A board will determine who needs the money most.
Another creative collaboration of Stoney's was with Marois, from which was born the WPME-TV show "Ridin' Steel." The program highlights motorcycle enthusiasts and the charity runs in which they participate.
"I approached him to see if he'd be interested in being the host of the show," Marois said. "I mean, the man is an icon when it comes to all the motorcyclists throughout the state if not the entire East Coast of the country. He has notoriety. When people think of Stoney, they think ‘biker,' automatically."
Marois added that "why I think Stoney's run is so important is because I believe he represents the freedom that Americans long for. When it comes to the biker, I believe that nobody exhibits the free life like the biker exhibits it ... and Stoney is the epitome of all of that."
Marois also pointed out that Stoney Dionne had friends in many places, from outlaw bikers to Christian bikers and the police.
"He's gained the respect of many, many, many people," he said.