Mrs. Rosalie K Stafford

October 9, 1919 – August 27, 2012

Mrs. Rosalie Stafford, age 93, of Decatur, Georgia passed away on August 27, 2012. She is preceded by her husband Thomas H. Stafford, parents Catherine and Peter Koestner, brothers Ernest, John, and Herman Koestner and sister Anna Marie Shinn. Rosalie was born on October 9, 1919 in Altoona, Pennsylvania and is survived by her sister Pauline Weinzierl and her husband Paul Weinzierl of Atlanta, and brother James and his wife Joan Koestner of Afton, Oklahoma.

Rosalie graduated from Georgetown University and served as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps from 1942 to 1944. During this time she met and married her husband Marine Major Thomas Holden Stafford of Augusta, Georgia at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina when the nurses were sent to open the Navy hospital there. Following the end of World War II the couple moved to Atlanta and had seven daughters.

Rosalie is survived by her daughters Nina Trent of Greenwood, SC; Laurie Whittington and her husband Van Whittington of Lawrenceville, GA; Beth Stafford of Grayton Beach, FL, Rosemary Stafford of Charleston, SC; Christine Stafford of Atlanta; Katherine Stafford and her husband Ken Mitzel of Atlanta, and Rachel Cochran and her husband Charles of Decatur. GA. She is survived by 14 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. Surviving grandchildren are Edgar Johnson, Stafford Johnson, Kristin Whittington Allin, Caroline Whittington Smith, Allison Trent Sutton, Leigh Trent Self, David Trent, Nina Kate Trent, Jonathan Coe, Hannah Coe, Katy Whittington Beauchamp, Emily Whittington, Elizabeth Cochran and Lydia Cochran.

Rosalie was dedicated to her husband, children and family members but gave of her time to volunteer in the St. Joseph’s Hospital Auxiliary for 11 years. She ministered to the sick at the then Scottish Rite Hospital of Atlanta and at Emory Hospital and Rehabilitation Center for several years. Rosalie was a devoted Catholic with membership at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta and for the last 20 years was a parishioner at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Decatur.

Rosalie, along with her family, enjoyed vacationing in St. Augustine Beach, Florida each summer for some 37 years. She was an avid bridge player and attended the monthly senior card parties at St. Thomas More. Rosalie was deeply devoted to her children and had a tremendous love for all children. She was a philanthropist at heart, supporting the poor and needy, both locally and internationally, for most of her life.

A funeral mass will be held at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Decatur, GA on Saturday, September 1 at 1:00 pm with a visitation prior to the service at noon.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that monetary donations be made to Missionaries of the Poor, PO Box 29893, Atlanta, GA 30359.Online condolences may be made a hmpattersonspringhill.com