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Jerry Gossett Stafford
CHARLOTTE - Jerry Stafford died peacefully on the evening of November 5, 2016, surrounded by her family. She was the beloved only child of Mary Quillian Pate Gossett and Charles Herman Gossett, born in Atlanta on September 12, 1923.
Jerry was raised in urban Atlanta, and as a teenager met a young Georgia Tech co-op student from North Carolina, Robert McKinley Stafford, at a Methodist youth retreat. They married in February, 1942; he graduated from Tech in June and was quickly called up by the US Army. She was pregnant when he shipped to North Africa, and while he served in the Corps of Engineers in Africa and Europe over the next years, she became a mother to their daughter Sharon. Sharon was three years old when Robert first met her and the family reunited on his discharge from war service in 1946.
Jerry and Robert were married for nearly 71 years at the time of his death in early 2013. She is survived by their three children: Sharon Stafford Bynum (Frank Bynum) of Fort Mill, SC; Mary Julie Stafford (Roy Highberg) of Huntersville; and Robert McKinley Stafford, Jr. (Barbara Elliott) of Charlotte. As Robert pursued a corporate career, the family lived in Somerville, NJ, Kirkwood, MO, Tulsa, OK, and Fanwood, NJ. In 1964 Robert and Jerry settled in Charlotte to establish an engineering consulting firm. Our mother was the heart of our family life. She was loving and demonstrative, always singing and providing the fun. She had a great and infectious laugh, an artistic bent, and a love of all things chocolate. We appreciate now the work she put into cooking three healthy meals a day, every day. She made sure we were able to participate in activities like Little League, Scouts, piano, drama and dance lessons, choirs, church groups, and class officer campaigns, and she and Dad were front and center boosters at every performance, game, and graduation. To her grandchildren, Jerry was their Bebe. They are Amy Rebecca Bynum, Mary Quince Thompson (Jeffrey Herman), and Wright Stafford Thompson (Lorna Burns), all of Charlotte. To them, their grandparents' home was a place of games and treats where you were hugged and kissed on arriving and again when you left, regardless of how short the visit.
This past year Bebe has shared in the family's joy over her first great-grandchild, Micah Burns Thompson. Our family is grateful to those who gave love and care to our mother in her later years. When you caught her funny wit, heard the joy in her singing, and saw her flirty smile, you nurtured the spark that was her essence.
A service for family and friends will be held in the Asbury Chapel at Aldersgate CCRC at one o'clock on Thursday, November 10.
Published in Charlotte Observer from Nov. 9 to Nov. 10, 2016
[Obit. provided by Lanie]
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1923 - 2016 (93 years)
