A Diamond on Fulton Street
Audrey Mamie Matthews grew up in her home on Fulton Street with four siblings and her loving parents, who had come to Medford all the way across the Canadian border. She was a bright soul who lit up any room she was in, even as a child. She grew up alongside her beloved older siblings, Hugh, Connie, and Ralph, and helped care for her younger sister, Charlene.
She excelled in school and graduated Medford High in 1960. She tried out jobs at various places, putting her people skills to work at places like Medford Savings Bank and Makepeace. The latter was where she met her future husband, Thomas E. Stone, who was charmed immediately. At the water fountain in the office, he told her with a handsome grin, “I’m going to marry you some day.”
And that he did. Four years after meeting, they were engaged in that same house on Fulton Street, on Christmas Eve, 1963. In their wedding album, still preserved to this day, her gentle, curving script reads: “I got my diamond in mother’s kitchen.”
Audrey, never one to make too much of a fuss over herself, borrowed her wedding dress from a friend.
Audrey and Thomas’ life together was a flurry of adventure: dates to the drive-in theatre, Sinatra shows, and the coolest clubs around town. To look through some of their photographs, with Tom’s slick parted hair and Audrey’s flawless cuts — always in the latest style — one might think they lived something akin to a glamorous VIP lifestyle. Yet they were effortless and undemanding.
Audrey raised three of her own children in her home on Fulton Street, inheriting the property after the passing of her parents. During the remodel, she knew she wanted the kitchen counters to be orange and the entire bathroom to be yellow (it was the 70s). If you walk through the house today and ask about any of its details, Tom is sure to say, “that is how my Audrey wanted it.”
Patricia, Jennifer, and little Thomas grew up in Medford, MA just as their mother had, while Dad worked at B.L. Makepeace. Much like clay, in parenting, Audrey was soft, yet firm when needed. The two of them must have done something right, as their children grew to be kind, thoughtful, and clever people. Thomas M. Stone, now a father of 3 children and 2 step-daughters, reminisced on a story from his adolescence:
I swear Ma always new what I was doing and where I was. No matter what I was doing, and no matter where she was.
I had decided to skip school with Mark and a few of the guys. We were in Medford Square walking towards the bus stop, when we looked at the time and realized we were going to miss the bus leaving for Harvard Square. We sprinted full speed, desperate to catch a ride. 15 feet from the bus stop, nearly out of breath, a voice rings out like a Drill Sergeant:
“You stop right there, Mr. Stone!”
Almost comically, we stopped abruptly. I looked over and of course it was Ma. I walked over to her, head hanging, and heard one of the guys say, “Oh shit… it’s Mrs. Stone. We are so in trouble.”
She just happened to be doing her errands in Medford Square that day, at that exact time… just my luck. I was so busted that day and faced my punishment later. But she told us, “I hope you boys learned a lesson. Because you never know who is watching you, especially when you’re doing things you’re not supposed to be doing.”
That was the last day I ever skipped school… or at least the last time I ever skipped school and stayed in the Medford Square area.
Saying only that Audrey was a great wife and great mother would be an injustice to her memory, though these epitaphs are true. She was a woman of kindness, always eager to help a neighbor or lend a hand to a stranger. She remembered the littlest details about people, never forgetting to ask after a sick cousin or a newly engaged step-daughter. She kept a meticulous book of addresses and phone numbers to keep up with friends, family, and acquaintances. It’s almost certain that every company adored her, as her accounting motto was “better to pay early than to forget!” She frequented the Christmas Tree Shop, The Chateau, and the Medford Public Library. She traveled to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Ireland, and their second home in Clearwater, FL, but Hawaii perhaps was her favorite trip. She took all vacations with Tom, and some were even double dates with their friends and siblings. No matter the destination, she brought her giant sunglasses and a smile.
After raising three wonderful children, she took a large role in rearing her grandchildren as well. Nana brightened their childhoods, mingling with the parents at the bus stop and keeping up with another generation of her grandchildren’s friends.
Four generations have lived in the cozy home on Fulton Street, and we’ve been blessed to have Audrey Stone brighten each and everyone of our lives.
