Date of death: 9/7/2017
Saint Meinrad Class: O 1961
Dec. 11, 1928 – Sept. 7, 2017 OKLAHOMA CITYThe Reverend James David Martin Stafford, 88, died on Sept. 7, 2017, in Oklahoma City. Father Stafford was born on Dec. 11, 1928, in Oilton, OK to Clay and Abbie Martin Stafford. Father attended Seminole Public Schools, elementary and high school, received his B.A. from The University of Oklahoma, his M.T.A. at the University of Tulsa and attended the Assumption Seminary, San Antonio. He was ordained to priesthood May 27, 1961, at Holy Family Cathedral, Tulsa, OK. He was a colonel in the U.S. Army, Fourth Infantry Regiment, and received the National Defense Services Medal. Father Stafford devoted 47 years in active ministry to the people of Oklahoma, serving as Assistant Pastor, Immaculate Conception, OKC; Associate Pastor, St. Francis Xavier, Enid; Chaplain at Enid State School, St. Ann Home, OKC; Chaplain, Counselor and Teacher, Bishop Kelley High School, Tulsa; Administrator, St. Andrew Church, Haskell; teaching position at Edison High School, Tulsa; Associate Pastor, St. William Church, Los Altos, CA; Associate Pastor, St. Patrick Church, OKC; Pastor, St. Barbara/ Holy Family, Lawton and mission, St. Patrick, Walters, OK; and Pastor, Blessed Sacrament in Lawton. In addition to his pastoral assignments, he served on the Worship Commission, Building Committee, Council of Priests, Seminary Board, Archdiocesan Chaplain of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima and as a Regional Vicar. Father Stafford retired in 2008. Father Stafford was preceded in death by his parents.