Final Salute

Richard (Dick) Stafford, a long time resident of East Helena, died June 30 at his home. Burial of ashes was at Mountain View Cemetery in Walla Walla, Washington.
Survivors include his son Morgen, his niece Janice Pridgen, cousin William Kennedy and cousin Betty Hall.

Dick, an only child, was born October 10, 1926 to Opie R and Blanche A (Baldwin) Stafford. At the time his father was employed by Railway Express, a forerunner of UPS, and was often sent on short notice to wherever a man was needed. When Dick’s mother was in the final days of her pregnancy, Opie was suddenly transferred from Dillon, Montana to Oregon. Dick might have been born in any one of the stops along the way, but his father’s new assignment was several hundred miles down the line, in Medford.

While Dick was growing up, the family moved several times, finally returning to Walla Walla, Washington where both Opie and Blanche had been born. Dick attended high school only a short time before dropping out to become an underage member of the United States Navy. He served as a Sea Bee in the European Theater of Operations. When the Normandy Campaign began on June 6, 1944, units of his battalion were among the first to land on Omaha Beach. On the 5th day of the invasion he was wounded for a second time and was evacuated to England.

In 1949 Dick married the love of his life, Shirley Jones, to whom he had been unofficially engaged for several years. Thus began a union that endured for nearly 60 years until Shirley’s passing in 2009.

Dick used the G.I. Bill to attend Seattle University and pay for his education. He graduated from the University with a Bachelor of Arts in Education and a K-12 teaching certificate. Over the years his teaching assignments ranged from elementary school to college. Locally he taught at both Helena High School and Carroll College. To supplement his teaching salary, Dick worked many summers for the Forest Service, initially as a fire fighter and later as a lookout.
DIck and Shirley spent several summers earning advanced degrees in Mexico and Dick was offered the job of overseeing three foreign language institutes at Carroll College in the late 60s. While studying in Mexico, Dick and Shirley established a student exchange program involving the Ateneo Fuente, a high school in Salitllo, Coahuila and Helena High School. More than one hundred Mexican and American teenagers would take advantage of this valuable learning experience.

Dick, attired in his WWII navy uniform was a familiar figure at parades and ceremonies honoring veterans in Helena and East Helena as well as other localities around Montana. He was a lifetime member of the American Legion, the VFW and the DAV. HE was also a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
God speed, Dick. Shirley is waiting for you.