Howard E. (Rocky) Stone

Pride of the CIA and Founder of SHHH: A Giant of a Man

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Rocky and his wife Alice Marie (Ahme) were a team for 53 years, from the early days of their marriage when they worked side by side for the CIA and in every other aspect of their rich and rewarding life. Their four children grew up in locations throughout the world. Their ten grandchildren took turns being with Rocky and Ahme at each SHHH convention. Sisters Mary and SHHH member Teddy will miss him. He leaves a nation of grateful hard of hearing people behind. He was a man who generated love and laughter wherever he went.

Rocky was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He enlisted in the Army during the Second World War and as a result of his military training he suffered a bilateral hearing loss that profoundly impacted the remainder of his life. Despite this disability he graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in International Relations and went on to do graduate work at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Gallaudet University. While in Washington he, along with his wife Ahme, was recruited by the newly created Central Intelligence Agency. He served the CIA and his country with honor and distinction for 25 years. Rocky was Chief of Station in: Khartoum, Sudan; Damascus, Syria; Katmandu, Nepal; and Rome, Italy. He also was posted to Tehran, Iran; Karachi, Pakistan and Saigon, South Viet Nam. For a period of time, while at CIA headquarters, he was chief of the Soviet Bloc division. For his service, in 1975, he was awarded the CIA's highest honor, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal.

In 1979 Rocky, retired from the CIA. Rocky wanted to change the way the world thinks about hearing loss and change the way that people with hearing loss think about themselves. He embarked on his new career. Working with Ahme from the basement of their home, Rocky founded Self help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH) -- today the largest consumer organization for people with hearing loss, boasting 250 chapters across the country. He brought hope and the ability to act in their own behalf to those who cannot hear well.

Rocky served on the AT&T Special Needs Center's Consumer Advisory Council. He formed a close working relationship with Senators Harkin and Simon, culminating in the enactment of the revolutionary Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. Appointed by President Reagan, he served on the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board ("Access Board"), which drafted the accessibility guidelines for the ADA. The Secretary of Health and Human Services appointed him to the Advisory Council on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders at the National Institutes of Health.

Rocky received a Presidential Citation from the American Academy of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery; the Howard House Award from Sertoma International; recognition from Advanced Bionics in honor of his vision and leadership; the Distinguished Service Award from the American Speech Language Hearing Association; the People to People Volunteer of the Year Award from the Committee on the Handicapped; the Outstanding Achievement Disability Project Award from the American Association of Retired Persons and the Herbert H. Lehman Award from the New York League of Hard of Hearing.

In 1993 Rocky retired from SHHH. In 1994 Macular Degeneration took Rocky's eyesight. He had a cochlear implant in 1994. Not slowing down, he served as the President of the International Federation of Hard of Hearing (IFHOH) from 1996-2000. Appointed to the executive committee of Hearing International Otolaryngologists, he was the only non-medical doctor on the Board. He most recently founded and was executive director of TeamWork for Hearing Health Services, a coalition of hearing health professionals. Awards given in his name for humanitarian efforts, leadership, advocacy and service to people with disabilities include the SHHH Rocky Stone Award and the Washington Archdiocesan Committee for People with Disabilities Rocky Stone Award. We give thanks today for the gift to us of the life of Rocky Stone.