Jeanne Camille Stafford

Jeanne Camille Stafford, 89, of Grants Pass, died Saturday, July 31, 2010, at her home. Per her wishes, no services are planned. Hull & Hull Funeral Directors are managing the arrangements.

Jeanne was born October 23, 1920 in Tucumcari, New Mexico, to John Joseph Roche and Lois Furer. She was raised in Marion, Ohio, and, as a young woman worked as a telephone operator for AT&T. She entered the United States Navy in 1945 where she served for two years as a WAVE, serving in the capacity of Link Operator and Trainer.

Jeanne met her husband-to-be, Woodrow “Woody” Stafford, while both were stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. They married in 1947. That same year, Jeanne left the military and the couple relocated to Tennessee, Florida and Texas where Woody was stationed. In 1956, they moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Woody was assigned as a Naval Attach for the United States Embassy. Upon returning to the States in 1959, they moved to Riverside, California, where Jeanne entered civil service as a Purchaser and retired in 1980 as a Budget Analyst at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. They settled in Grants Pass, Oregon, in 1980.

Jeanne was an accredited Parliamentarian and served on numerous boards, including the Grants Pass Museum of Art, United Way, and Toastmasters where she won multiple awards. She was a Master Gardener, served as President of the Siskiyou District Garden Clubs and President of the Siskiyou Judges Council, she was a nationally-accredited flower show judge and taught floral design to the local Rogue Arrangers.

Survivors include a daughter, Tina Stafford of Grants Pass, Oregon; a son, Michael Stafford of Placerville, California; granddaughters, Sherry Powell of Lakewood, California and Michelle Upchurch of Quail Valley, and great-grandsons, Michael Patrick Stafford and Todd Upchurch of Quail Valley, California. Her husband, Woody Stafford, died March 9, 2001, and her son, Patrick Stafford died on February 1, 2002.

Contributions may be made to Village Heartbeat, P.O. Box 49152, Colorado Springs, CO 80949 (villageheartbeat.org).