MRS. JOSEPHINE STAFFORD's Obituary
A beloved wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and friend to many, Josephine Delores Stafford was never without her beautiful smile, immense faith in God, devotion to her family, and her resilient spirit. After living courageously with a lengthy illness that never broke her unwavering resolve, Josephine Stafford, 80, was called home on September 3, 2024.
Josephine was born in Detroit in 1944 to Era Estelle Evans and Butler Jones, the youngest of eight children. She attended Detroit’s Pershing High School before studying business at the Lewis College of Business. Josephine’s career spanned stints at the government and Detroit Optometric Centers. In the early 1970s, Josephine became one of the first Black women to integrate into her east side neighborhood when she purchased her home, a proud truth she always shared.
But among Josephine’s proudest accomplishments was the family she created. She married the love of her life, John C. Stafford, in 1980. Married for 44 years, the couple loved to recount the moment the two met at a local Firestone Auto shop, stealing each other’s breaths away and laying the foundation for a several decades long marriage. “Always and forever,” the two would say to each other every time they spoke.
Together, the two of them raised three beautiful children: Kevin, Cassie and Katrease. As a mother, Josephine instilled many lessons about fulfilling God’s-ordained purpose, self determination, heritage, pride, belonging, self discipline – and the need to enjoy life with those you love.
She wore many hats throughout her long and meaningful life: Josephine loved to travel, as evidenced by the ski and Jamaica trips she took in her youth, the routine weekend trips her and John would take to Canada, and road trips with her children. She loved music and started a singing group to chase a dream of singing R&B tunes, before she decided to settle down and start a family. She was an avid gardener, growing a bed of roses, bushes and trees that remain, forever reminding her family of her enduring presence. She was a self-proclaimed fashionista who loved to shop and adorn herself in colorful clothes, makeup, perfume, jewelry and her favorite fur coat. You’d never spot her leaving the house without her silk pressed hair and spiced red lipstick. She loved to cook elaborate holiday meals, cakes, pies and desserts that filled her home with warm, delectable scents of apple pie and peach cobbler. Josephine also had a soft spot for her pets, treating each and every one – Duke, Fritz, Ellis and her grandpups and cats – like the valuable family member they were.
She loved her beloved city of Detroit, becoming a community mainstay in her eastside neighborhood as her and John led the neighborhood’s Wilshire Block Club Association together, hosting city leaders and others in their home. Though she had a big, outsized personality, Josephine preferred to stay in the background, becoming a neighborhood mom of sorts for children throughout the neighborhood, passing out meals to them through a program her and her husband started, and planning several community efforts including neighborhood block parties.
Josephine’s favorite pastime was to dote over her grandchildren, giving them secret gifts and all the candy, goodies and love they could dream of. But most importantly, Josephine doled out important familial stories and memories, in hopes of continuing the rich fabric of a generational legacy that she and John built so carefully together.
Josephine wasn’t an active member of a church at the time of her passing but she didn’t need to be – she was a woman of faith, as evidenced by her worn Bible that was full of colorful bookmarks and highlights of her favorite verses. She’d often say, “God is present near me and within me,” filling her with love, hope and purpose.
Josephine was preceded in death by her parents Era Evans and Butler Jones; her siblings Emma Bobby Hitchcock; Mildred Jones; John Jones; Wilbur Jones; Myrtle Jones and Thelma Jones. She is survived by her husband John C. Stafford; son, Kevin Stafford; daughters Cassie Troy(Tony) and Katrease Stafford (Travis Thomas); brother James Lorenzo Jones; several grandchildren, nieces, nephews, in-law relatives and more.
There wasn’t a better wife, mother, grandmother or friend that anyone could have asked for. Josephine will be missed immensely but her memory will live on in the hearts of all those who loved her. Josephine was never afraid of death. She’d always say, “There’s no need to worry about me. I’ll be ready when the good Lord” says it’s time to go. He did, and she was.
What’s your fondest memory of JOSEPHINE?
What’s a lesson you learned from JOSEPHINE?
Share a story where JOSEPHINE's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with JOSEPHINE you’ll never forget.
How did JOSEPHINE make you smile?
