Inez LaVaughn Stafford passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. She was born on April 23, 1926, on the Welsh family farm south of Ogallala, Nebraska, the daughter of Roy and Bertha Welsh. She grew up steeped in the rhythms of farm life and carried that love of the land with her for the rest of her days, tending beautiful flower beds and a vegetable garden her whole life. She graduated from Brule High School in 1943 and later attended the Denver Opportunity School, where she studied to be a secretary. She kept her ties to Brule close throughout her life, returning often to Brule Day festivities and family reunions.
On December 23, 1945, she married Milton ‘Mick’ Stafford at the Brule Congregational Church. Their early years together took them across Nebraska, through Lincoln, Thedford, Farnam, Alliance, and Omaha before they settled in Denver in 1956. She lived in the same home for 62 years, where four generations of family gathered around her table to create decades of memories rooted in love and connection.
In her early life, she and Mick had an active social life, often playing bridge or bowling in a league with friends. When her children were very young, she baked cakes and pies to sell at the bowling alley between games to earn extra money for her growing family.
She was an involved wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother who led Girl Scout troops for each of her three daughters, a Cub Scout Den Mother for her sons, rarely missed her sons' baseball and football games, and sewed countless Halloween costumes for her children and grandchildren. She was a gracious host known for her home style cooking at holidays and birthdays, a fierce bridge and gin rummy player, and a longtime member of her church book club. She also shared the bounty from her garden and kitchen and even taught several generations the secrets of canning peaches.
Inez gave that same energy to every community she was part of. She served on the staff of Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church for twenty-five years, where her patience and organization kept things running smoothly behind the scenes. She volunteered in many capacities at Park Hill Congregational Church UCC, serving as Deacon, leading several committees, organizing events, and taking care of members of the congregation in many ways. She was active in both Toastmasters and the League of Women Voters, met regularly with the Red Hat Society. In her later years, she became a beloved regular in the senior’s group at Cake Crumbs, a local coffee shop that reminded her of the close-knit community she grew up in back in Brule. Whether it was Thanksgiving dinner or just a weeknight gathering, she could always be counted on to welcome guests and friends to her table.
She built many traditions of her own throughout her life. She was a neighborhood legend for the popcorn balls she handed out every Halloween, always dressed as a witch, her Rice Krispie treats were a staple for her son's college friends, and she made huge batches of peanut brittle for friends and family every Christmas. She also sent a Christmas card to friends and family every single year without fail, keeping a flawless record going back to the early days of her marriage.
For all her love of home, she had an adventurous streak and always jumped at the chance to see more of the world, especially to visit tropical places. In addition to trips to the tropics, some of her biggest trips included a European tour with her sister Lillian and Lillian’s children, a memorable Alaskan cruise with her husband Mick, a road trip through England with her daughter Cheryl, and a cross-country US road trip with her son Neal, retracing a previous trip she had taken with her husband. She even ventured onto the golf course until her 90s.
Inez was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Milton "Mick" Stafford, her brother Richard Welsh, and her sisters Ruby Burkland and Lillian Richardson.
She is survived by her five children and their families: Cheryl Stafford and her husband Lee Groom, Neal Stafford, Wilson Stafford and his wife Diane, Janice Reynolds and her husband John, and Sandra Stroehmann and her husband Randall Byrd. She is also survived by her brothers, Norman Welsh and his wife Bonnie, and Clifford Welsh and his wife Pat, her eight grandchildren, Chris, Matt, Ted, Ben, Lauren, Jason, Dave, and Savannah, and her seventeen great grandchildren.
Visitation will take place on Friday, July 31, 2026, at the Draucker Funeral Home Chapel from 3:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Graveside services will be Saturday, August 1, 2026, at 10:00 A.M. at the Brule Cemetery in Brule with Rev. Lisa Hadler from the United Church of Christ Congregational officiating.
Online condolences may be left at www.drauckerfh.com.
Draucker Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.