Col. John P. Stafford Jr.

Colonel John P. Stafford Jr. "Jack" of Chestertown died Wednesday, May 4, 2005 at Heron Point. He was 89. Born on September 24, 1915 in Cordova, Maryland, he was the middle son of Mr. and Mrs. John P. Stafford. At the age of six he moved with his family to Easton where he graduated from Easton High School. He attended Greenbrier Military School and in 1938 he graduated early from the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia Law School with a Juris Doctor degree. Upon passing the Maryland Bar that same year he began the practice of law in Easton. In May, 1941 Jack enlisted in the army and joined the Fourth Armored Division in Pine Camp, New York. He rose through the enlisted ranks and attended the Judge Advocate Generals Officer Candidate School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was during this period that he married his hometown sweetheart, Elizabeth Henry Cosby from Cambridge, MD at Christ Episcopal Church on May 3, 1944. Graduating as a first Lieutenant, Jack and Betty were assigned to Washington, DC, Leavenworth, Kansas and then Baltimore, Maryland. He next went to Fort Know, Kentucky as the Command Judge Advocate. In 1946, as a Major, he left for Munich, Germany. Lt. Colonel Stafford returned to the United States as deputy to the Chief of Legislation at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. His next assignment was in Anchorage as Staff Judge Advocate of the Alaska Command. He returned to the United States to go to Fort Monroe, Virginia and then in 1963 he was assigned as Staff Judge Advocate to the Southern European Command in Verona, Italy. Colonel Stafford retired from the Army in August 1970 at Fort Meade, Maryland as Staff Judge Advocate for First Army. Returning to Maryland, Col. Stafford took the position of Assistant to the Attorney General of Maryland. He again retired and this time to his home, the Eastern Shore. He and his wife Betty came to live in Chestertown where they enjoyed many good times with friends. Jack liked to play bridge, work in the garden and keep up with the news and the stock market. He was an avid Democrat who loved to discuss politics. He also served as a board member to Hospice of Kent County. “The Colonel” is survived by his wife, Betty; daughter, Elizabeth Tina Jenkins of Charlotte, North Carolina and son and daughter-in-law, John and Belinda Stafford of Atlanta, Georgia. Funeral services will be conducted at Old St. Paul’s Church, Kent County, MD on May 7, 2005 at 3 pm. He will be laid to rest in St. Paul’s Cemetery. Any donations in Jack’s memory can be made to American Legion Post 36, c/o Frank Jarman, P.O. Box 322, Chestertown, MD 21620 or Kent Hospice Foundation, 100 Brown Street, Chestertown, MD 21620. Arrangements by Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Funeral Home, P. A., 130 Speer Road, Chestertown, MD 21620.