Submitted photo Kaitlynn Jade Stone recently became a fourth-generation nurse in her family.

ELKINS – Kaitlynn Jade Stone recently became a fourth-generation nurse in her family after graduating from West Virginia Wesleyan College and accepting a job at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.     

Stone graduated Magna Cum Laude from Wesleyan this spring with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. While attending college at Wesleyan she was employed at Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital. Stone has started her job at Ruby in the Intensive Care Unit.     

Stone’s great-grandmother was Dr. Julia Hartman (RN, BSN, MSN Ed.D), who at one time was the head of nursing at Davis & Elkins College. Her grandmother is Sherry Bartlett (RN, BSN), who was a nurse for 46 years at Davis Memorial Hospital. Her aunt Shane Heckler (LPN) and great aunts Robin Riggelman (RN, BSN, MSN) and Susan Abbott (RN, BSN, FNP) are all nurses or have been nurses at some point.    

“The nursing profession really started with my mother Julia,” Bartlett said. “For the rest of us it just seemed like the thing to do after watching her (Hartman) do it for all those years. And it’s nice that Kaitlynn recently just passed her board and now she is a registered nurse.”    

Barlett said the entire family is proud of Stone’s accomplishments and believes she will be a wonderful nurse. Stone was named to the Dean’s list and President’s list while attending school at Wesleyan, where she also played softball for two years before suffering an injury.     

“We are very proud of Kaitlynn and she plans to continue her education at WVU to become a nurse anesthetist,” Bartlett said. “My mother (Hartman) was very influential with her and was a big influence. But all of the family members who have been in nursing helped her, answering questions and explaining things. We all had a hand in helping her.”       

Stone, who graduated from Elkins High School, was a member of the honor society Alpha Lambda Delta and Sigma Theta Tau at Wesleyan. She was president of the Student Nursing Association at West Virginia Wesleyan.        

Stone is the daughter of Erin and Steve Stone. She has one brother, Trent. Her mother Erin is also involved in the medical field as she works as a tech for Dr. Lucas Pavlovich, an orthopedic surgeon in Elkins.