Dr. Edward Stafford Jr.

March 21, 1942 June 9, 2007
Dr. Edward F. "Ted" Stafford Jr., 65, of Huntsville passed away Saturday. Dr. Stafford was born in Beaver Falls, Penn. He served in the U.S. Army as a counter-intelligence agent in Germany during the Vietnam War. After his discharge, he earned his bachelor's and master's degree in industrial engineering and a Ph.D. in management science from Penn State University. Dr. Stafford was a nationally recognized scholar and published extensively in the areas of production and operations management. He was the recipient of the 2006 UAH Foundation Award for Research and Creative Achievement. Dr. Stafford's passion for research was matched by his zeal for teaching. He was recently recognized at the 25th anniversary of the College of Administrative Science as the Most Enthusiastic or Entertaining Professor. Previous to his 22 years at UAH, Dr. Stafford served on the faculty of the University of South Carolina and Oklahoma University. He was preceded in death by his wife, Christine Wright Nunnally Stafford; parents, Edward Stafford Sr. and Nellie Stafford, and sister, Sharon Tranter Stafford Wright. Survivors include sons, Edward Frank "Ted" Stafford III and Andrew Eugene William Stafford of Huntsville; daughter, Elizabeth Wright Stafford Waterman and husband, Dr. John Holden Waterman, of West Hartford, Conn.; sisters, Nora Stafford Wood of Phoenix, Ariz., and Anna Carol Stafford Buffington of State College, Pa.; granddaughters, Christine Wright Waterman and Abigail Stafford Waterman of West Hartford; fiancee, Nancy Mullin of Madison; two nieces; one great-niece; and one greatnephew. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Laughlin Service Funeral Home. The funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Holy Spirit Catholic Church with Father Mike MacMahon officiating. Burial will be in National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Western Pennsylvania.