Vivacity, compassion and dependability are traits frequently
mentioned by friends when Dee Hone’s name arises, and all agree
that among her best attributes is enthusiasm.
Vivacity, compassion and dependability are traits frequently mentioned by friends when Dee Hone’s name arises, and all agree that among her best attributes is enthusiasm.
Hone burns with the intensity of an acetylene flame when engrossed in any project that has captured her attention, and even in her quieter moments she seems like a humming dynamo.
Hone credits her priorities to her parents in Syracuse, N.Y., where she and her younger brother, Carmen, spent their youth against the backdrops of the Depression and World War II.
“All four of my grandparents came from Italy,” she said, “and they and my parents were hard-working people. They had an abiding faith in God, loved their families and felt that they owed something to their community.”
The first child and only daughter of Anthony and Mary Caruso Daino, the former Dolores Daino remembers those days in sharp focus.
“Everyone in our neighborhood had similar backgrounds, and if someone needed help for any reason, we all helped. Our parents were our best models,” Hone said.
She found she had a quick mind when she entered school and did well. After graduation in 1948 from Assumption Catholic Academy, she took college courses, then in 1951 married a U.S. Army pilot named Arthur Langlois. The young bride whose life had followed a comfortable routine found herself living in foreign countries and American communities and eventually had four children.
Hone maintains close touch with them and their children. They are Tucker Langlois of Hollister, Lynette Robinson of Coronado, Robin Stewart of Gilroy and Michel Langlois of Stockton. Among them they have 10 children and two grandchildren.
Hone laughed at a memory.
“We had lived in France and Germany by then and were in Taipei (Taiwan) when Michel learned to talk. Only he didn’t speak English right away. His first words were in Chinese because that was what the maids spoke.”
Even then, she found ways to help others. She worked at military canteens in several posts, and as an American Red Cross volunteer in Taiwan was assigned to the Navy hospital.
When the marriage ended, she needed a way to support her children. She applied at Wells Fargo Bank and was hired.
“I had to do well and so I worked hard to succeed,” she said.
Her superiors were impressed by her attitude and gave her the opportunity to take many bank-sponsored classes.
“I was so grateful because it opened many doors for me,” Hone said.
She eventually became a loan officer, then manager.
In 1970, Hone went on a blind date and thus met the manager of Stewart Title of San Jose. Each enjoyed the evening and before long he called her for another night out. It soon became apparent that their futures were to be entwined, and on May 28, 1972 she and Wayne Hone were married at the Carmel Highlands Inn.
“Wayne has been wonderful throughout our life together,” she said. “He is my best friend as well as my husband, always supportive.”
Their partnership went beyond their personal lives. She aided him in the creation of two title companies: Santa Clara Land Title in San Jose, and in 1988, San Benito Land Title in Hollister.
She had been the first woman manager of the Wells Fargo Blossom Hill branch, and was vice president of South Valley Bank when it opened in 1990, where The Vault restaurant is now. She joined San Benito Bank in the mid-1990s and was vice president of business development until her retirement.
Hone had been active in the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce and lost no time here in joining the county Chamber of Commerce. Her years on the board include service as vice president and president.
She also was a founding member of Le Tip, a group of people whose interchange on relevant issues has benefited the business community, and was president of United Way for two terms.
Hone also was vice president of Kinship Center, which provides resources for foster children and families, and was the treasurer and board member of Compassion Pregnancy Services, which helps pregnant women with no husbands and little hope.
Her community service also includes board membership on the local American Red Cross.
Hone’s life took another turn when she received some of the most devastating news of her life.
“I learned that I had cancer several years ago,” Hone said.
She was shocked, then angry, but knew she had to face the stark realization of her own mortality. She underwent surgery for it on Sept. 29, 2000.
Hone acknowledged the “great support of so many people” beyond her husband and family in the months that followed.
“I cannot say I am free of it, but I am a cancer survivor.”
She said her faith in God was essential in that traumatic time.
“It was as though He said, ‘OK, I hear you.’ He pulled me through and is still seeing me along,” Hone said.
When she was honored as Outstanding Woman of the Year at the annual Chamber Recognition Night last month, it was a popular choice.
“I was overwhelmed,” she said. “This is where I have put down my roots and to be so welcomed, there are just no words to describe it.”
She is still basking in the glow of that evening, “and its great outpouring of friendship.”
Hone and her husband occasionally get away to a time-share home in Hawaii, and to see their children and grandchildren.
Wayne Hone had three children from a previous marriage, one who has since died, and five grandchildren.
“We look upon them all – Wayne’s and mine – as our grandchildren and we delight in the time we can spend with them,” she said.
Musing upon her experiences and friendships over the years, Dee Hone smiled and said, “I thank God for every day of my life.”
