Women of the Year – A Legacy
Nadine Van Stone made thousands of area families’ lives better through Catholic Charities
“Farming carried with her, her whole life,” Nelson said.
As the middle daughters, Nelson said she and Van Stone, who was two years older, were particularly close. After high school they hitchhiked from Spokane to New York, and then went their separate directions – Van Stone to San Francisco, Nelson to Texas – for a time until both returned to Spokane.
“We had a certain role as connectors between the olders and littlers,” Nelson said of her sisters’ birth order. “I always admired her.”
When Van Stone joined Catholic Charities in 1999, she started designing the new St. Margaret’s facility for the homeless women and children who would live there. She received numerous awards for her work, including the Donna Hanson Award, named after a former director of Catholic Charities in Spokane…
