Lois Margaret Stafford

Baca county lost a friend today. The 4’11” dynamite powder keg named Lois Margaret
Thomas Stafford peacefully joined her angel in the spirit world, reuniting with loved ones on
December 16, 2023.

A waitress, telephone operator, restaurateur, business partner in ranching, farming and grain
elevators, and the mother of eight: Lois could be counted on to weigh the trucks at the
elevator and still get home to prepare dinner for the family she loved.

Lois's life was equally full of love, laughter, and times of significant hardship. She was born in
Springfield Missouri - 20 minutes ahead of her twin sister Louise - in her grandparents home,
where her grandmother assisted with the birth while the doctor, apparently, slept through the
whole process (at least that’s the story she tells). The twins were small enough to fit into shoe
boxes - weighing 2 1/2 lbs and 3 1/2 lbs respectively. They traveled back to the family farm in
South West Kansas by train in a suitcase that had been tricked out into a bassinet. They were
born only a few years before the Great Depression and the Dust Bowls that would hit Kansas
and Oklahoma.

Lois's childhood is full of stories of black dark clouds rolling in, turning day to the darkest of
night and of playing in sand piles that would appear overnight; these storms would last days
on end. She recalled that some days they might walk three or four miles gathering cow
“chips” to burn in the stove for cooking and to heat their dugout home. Her father, not different
than many other farmers, lost his farm during the depression. This loss put a great hardship
on the family, both financially and emotionally. The family had often faced financial hardships,
but most times they had enough to eat and that was more than some families. When asked
about high school and proms, she said “it was the war and we didn’t have prom. I quit high
school to work as a telephone operator.”

Lois experienced hard times from the beginning that never really ended until after WWII.
Even still, she loved dancing and celebrating life. In fact, she met her husband Van Stafford of
nearly 70 years at a barn dance “one beautiful fall night” in Boise City, OK. Two years after
meeting they were married and moved to Campo, CO to build a grain elevator. They lived
there for the next 60 years raising their children alongside farming and ranching.

Friendship was her superpower. She always had a listening ear and an encouraging word,
not to mention she could heal your hunger and your soul with her legendary chicken and
noodles and fried chicken and pot roast. She was always generous with her money; if you
needed help with your water bill or a few bucks for gas, she was always sure to help. She had
a drop dead sense of humor that was even more evident in her final years and months of life.
Lois had many treasured friendships over her 95 years, but maybe none more so than her
and Van’s neighbors of 60 years, the Winegarner’s. A well worn path between the two homes,
carried the story of things borrowed (some maybe never returned by the Stafford’s,) tasty
treats shared, and bandaged knees on more than one occasion because if one mom wasn’t
home then the other one was.

A trend setter, Lois was the first woman in Campo to wear men's pants (slacks), saying she
only wanted to be comfortable. She was also quite fond of shoes - throughout her years from
waitress to farmer, she came home from shopping trips to Amarillo with more than a few new
pairs to show Van, who always enjoyed the fashion shows. Her daughters will remember her
for being a sharp dresser.

A gracious host, Lois celebrated with many card and domino parties over the years. Despite
the gatherings being held in their own home, her husband Van, hoping to signal to guests that
it was time to leave, would tell Lois that it was time to go home. Family gatherings always
included Pitch and/or dominoes, and because Lois had a sign hanging in her kitchen saying
“this kitchen is made for dancing", dancing was not uncommon.

Lois was a mother to 8 children and grandmother to15 grandchildren, # great grandchildren,
and # great great grandchildren. Her grandchildren will remember many life lessons she
taught them including the importance of bleach, making more food than needed for any meal,
and of course maybe none more than the weekends of dressing chickens. Always a much
more embellished experience by the grandchildren as the years have passed.
Lois, above all else, was resilient.

A mother of eight, who gave birth to the first born in a closet because they couldn't make it to
the hospital - stopping off at a farm house along the way. She's famous for her line, “what do
you want me to do, stop and dig a well?” when driving and her kids asked for a drink of water.
Once while driving to Boise City, the car hood blew off and she kept driving while the kids
protested, saying “we will pick it up on the way back” (which she never did). Lois would later
be known as "the silver streak" for driving her silver Buick a little over the speed limit on more
than one occasion.

Lois felt strongly that we were responsible for how our life turned out - writing in her journals
about choices and how they affected our lives. Her entries could be summed up in a quote
by Graham Brown ``Life is about choices. Some we regret, some we are proud of. Some will
haunt us forever. The message: we are what we choose to be.” She always had a faith that
lifted her above anything, knowing that it didn’t remove the pain of life but it helped get her
through it; her angels helped her to endure life’s hardships.

Lois is survived by her brother Keith Thomas, eight children Michael Stafford, Barbara Hinds,
Carol Jane Crane, Alice Brenners, Max Stafford, Delma Christie, Pauline Stafford, Cynthia
Stafford: fifteen grandchildren Courtney Weis, Angel Anderson, Jennifer Bradley, Leslie
Pelton, Byron Hinds, Stephanie Hecht, Bryan Crane, Brande Parkey, Kimberly Byers, Stafford
Dyer, Trenton Stafford, Ryan Stafford, Tyler Stafford, Randi Christie, Brittney Christie,
thirty-two great grandchildren and seventeen great, great great grandchildren.She is
preceded in death by her husband Van Stafford, parents Willie and Bernice Thomas, brother
Don and sisters Louise (her twin), Bertha and Evelyne.

In memory of Lois’s heartfelt generosity, the family requests any memorial donations be given
to a neighbor in need.