1920
2010
Lena Sophie Stafford, 90, died Sunday afternoon, October 31, 2010, at Maplewood Parkplace in Bethesda, Maryland. She was a Bethesda resident for nearly 60 years.
Mrs. Stafford was born and raised in Cherokee County, Kansas. Her parents Leonard Lamendola and Anna Vandris Lamendola were longtime residents of Carona and Columbus, Kansas. After attending schools in West Mineral and Columbus, Kansas, Mrs. Stafford moved to Topeka, Kansas. While working in the Office of the Governor of Kansas, she met George M. Stafford, Secretary to the Governor, and she and Mr. Stafford were married in 1947. She also worked for the Kansas Republican State Headquarters and the Kansas Women's Republican Club. They lived for periods in Topeka, Washington, D.C., and Bethesda, Maryland. During this time, Mrs. Stafford was a homemaker, and later an administrative assistant with the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda and then with the Federal Election Commission in Washington, D.C. She had an avid interest in gardening and horticulture native to the region, and was active in garden clubs in her Bethesda neighborhood.
Mrs. Stafford was a member of the Metropolitan Methodist Church of Washington, D.C. and P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization).
Survivors include two sons, Quincy Rodgers of Lusby, Maryland and Hillsboro Beach, Florida, and Bill Stafford of Bethesda, Maryland, a daughter, Dr. Susan A. Stafford of Concord, Massachusetts, and five grandchildren, Amy Rodgers, Andrew Stafford, William Stafford, Elizabeth Stark, and Emily Stark.
Mr. and Mrs. Stafford were married for 48 years until his death in 1995. She also was preceded in death by two sisters, Doris Jean Coplin of Topeka, Kansas, and Ann Lois Lamendola of Columbus, Kansas.
Services will be held on Thursday, November 11, 2010, at 1:30 pm at the Metropolitan Methodist Church, 3401 Nebraska Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. The interment will take place in the Church's columbarium following the services. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Metropolitan Methodist Church and/or the First United Methodist Church of Columbus, Kansas, 320 West Maple Street Box 20, Columbus KS 66725.
Arrangements entrusted to Joseph Gawler's Sons Inc., Washington, DC.
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