Van Stafford

Van Stafford, child cowboy, fruit picker, dock worker, boiler maker, self -taught engineer, sheep herder, farmer-rancher, gardener, entrepreneur, mason, and student of the law, died on May 30, 2017.      Van always saw life as an adventure.  Not to be deterred, obstacles were met like water over rocks in a river, to flow over or around.  Whether it was driving cattle from Amarillo to New Mexico at age 8, hauling water a days ride from the ranch, or building a grain elevator from the ground up, he always approached life with vigor and enthusiasm.      Van was born near Texhoma, Oklahoma on the family homestead, March 21, 1923.  He was the twelfth of fourteen children.  This large family was always the foundation and framework for his life.  He was reared equally by his siblings as well as his parents which is why he would bring the youngest of his eight children to his teenage daughters in the middle of the night and say ‘it’s your turn to rock’.       During the Dust Bowl years, the family believed more opportunities existed in California.  Grapes of Wrath was not a novel, it was his life.  He always told the story of his brother, Vesta, bringing an engine via horseback to get the family truck running.  (Remember this was pre – Napa Auto Parts.) This enabled the family to make the trip to California.  Vesta had the foresight not to bring Oklahoma tags knowing the family could be turned back.      Once in California, Van began his life- long entrepreneurship, taking a bucket and brush and scrubbing steps for a nickel a step.  He proudly came home to his mother with his earnings and stated ‘I can make my way, what are you guys going to do?’  Finding a job did not prove as difficult as transferring from the one room school house in New Mexico to Merced, California.  This presented a new challenge due to the profound hearing loss he suffered from Rheumatic Fever at an early age.      Despite these challenges, he was an avid learner.  He often recalled the story of being pulled from his high school classes to build the WWII Japanese encampments.  After graduating valedictorian he headed to enlist in the Army.  However, due to his hearing loss he was denied.  This started his journey of making his way in the world, whether it was a boiler maker on the docks, working on the Golden Gate Bridge, or hustling pool at night.      After his brother, Brian, came back from the war they headed back to Oklahoma to join their brothers and began farming and ranching.  There he met his bride of 69 years, Lois Margaret Thomas.  In the spring of 1949, they moved to Campo, Colorado with their first child to build a grain elevator and a life of farming and ranching.       Van was not only good at raising wheat but rearing children, given the fact that he had eight.  It was one of the times that his hearing loss proved to be an advantage.      Attempting to encourage entrepreneurship in his children, he had them start a newspaper route.  This experience led to many family stories that have continued to be embellished over the years.       Even though timeouts and whipens were not used, he never minded a good thump on the head.  His version of timeout was child labor, as his son, Max, remembers well.    His grandchildren were not excluded from the family farm fun.  When they were dropped off at their grandparent’s home, they got to participate in plucking and dressing chickens.  This story has also been embellished over the years.       Van was not afraid of hard work and he expected the same from his children.  His family was the foundation and framework for his life.  This continued to the next generation of his family.      Lois, the woman who made his eyes light up when she walked in the room, was his friend, confidant, and business partner.  They enjoyed their eight children but always looked forward to a night out of dancing.  They hosted many card and domino parties and enjoyed their Campo neighbors.  Van was always up for a fashion show when Lois returned from shopping in Amarillo.  She kept the farm crew feed by taking meals to the field and provided a courier service for the elevator and kept the books.  She was a true life partner.  They enjoyed Sunday dinners with their children and grandchildren.  There never was a short supply of love, laughter, and stories.  He helped create a bond in his children that is still strong today.      Van was known around Campo for his easy going personality, calm demeanor, and love of playing cards.  He enjoyed watching his kids participate in school activities.  During athletic events, he was never too shy to question a call from a ref or an umpire.      He was involved in the American Agriculture Movement and stood firmly for his beliefs in the common man and their right to prosper.      Van is survived by his wife Lois Stafford; two sisters, Priscilla Benson, Billy Jo Stafford; eight children, Michael Stafford, Barbara Hinds, Jane Crane, Alice Brenners, Max Stafford, Katie Christie, Pauline Stafford, Cindy Stafford; fifteen grandchildren, Courtney Weis-Stephenson, Angel Anderson, Jennifer Bradley, Leslie Pelton, Byron Hinds, Stephanie Hecht, Bryan Crane, Brande Parkey, Kimberly Byers, Stafford Dyer, Trenton Van Stafford, Ryan Stafford, Tyler Stafford, Randi Christie, Brittany Christie; and twenty-two great-grandchildren.  He is preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Clovis, L J, Vesta, Alex, Brian; sisters, Geneva, Urva, Mima, Juanita, Mattie Ella, Anna Lou.  The family requests memorial donations be given to the "Jim Womack Scholarship Fund" through TBK bank either directly or by way of the funeral home.