Eva Lena Stafford

To one man she was a good and faithful wife for 48 years. To four children she was a beloved mother who loved them unconditionally and laid down her life for them.
To 13 grandchildren she was a loving and giving grandmother who always welcomed them with open arms.
To 32 great-grandchildren she handed down a heritage and legacy of sacrifice, courage and hard work, a strong faith in God, and importance of family.
To the many relatives and friends who had the blessing of knowing her during her 96 years, she was a loyal and faithful, giving and selfless person.
Eva Lena Rayton Stafford passed away peacefully at her home on the Twin Oaks Road surrounded by her children on June 24, 2007. She was born Jan. 20, 1911, to Leonard and Anna Rayton. Her grandparents, John and Angeline Rayton were Washington pioneers who settled in the Boistfort Valley in 1865.
In 1867 John purchased the Claquato property and Leonard and Anna farmed it after their marriage in 1906. Eva was born and raised there on the family farm, along with her sister Dora and brothers Norman and Lowell.
She attended the 1st through 6th grades at the Twin Oaks School that Leonard not only named, but was instrumental in getting started. After the Twin Oaks School consolidated with Adna, Eva attended school there, graduating with honors from the class of 1929. She was proud that her class was the first to graduate from the new brick high school on the hill.
Eva attended a year of college at Centralia and a year at Ellensburg Normal and a year at Washington State at Pullman to get her teaching certificate. She first taught the first four grades at Newaukum and while there met the brother of Ruth Stafford, one of her third graders.
Following two years of teaching at Adna, Eva married Howard Stafford on Feb. 16, 1936. Son Jim was born a year later, and daughter Sheila four years after that.
When WWII broke out, the family moved to Seattle where Howard worked for Boeing. They returned to the Bunker Creek area in 1943 after Boeing opened an auxiliary plant in Chehalis.
Daughters Linda and Jo joined the family in the mid-forties. In 1955, Howard and Eva purchased a home and acreage about a mile from the Rayton Farm on the Twin Oaks Road. The 16 Rayton cousins grew up playing and working on the farm, swimming in the nearby river and graduating from the same school.
Eva loved gardening and she raised a huge garden every year. Her pantry was filled with jars of home-canned jams, pickles, sauerkraut, fruits and vegetables. She was a wonderful cook and will always be remembered for her family dinners on Sundays and holidays.
Eva taught the 5th and 6th grade class for many years at the Adna Church as did her mother before her. In later years, she was a member of the Chehalis Four-Square Church. She also belonged to the Daughters of the Pioneers.
She was preceded in death by her husband Howard in 1984, daughter-in-law Donna in 1988 and grandson Christopher in 1995.
Eva is survived by her son Jim and his daughters Kim (Rob) Galavez and their children Courtney, Olivia and Abigail; Cyndi (Shad) Cooley and their children Hannah and Brayden; daughter Sheila (Larrie) Schiminesky and their daughter Lori (Jim) Gardner and children Eric and Adam; their son Frank; daughter Linda (Dick) Sullivan and their son Erik and children Justin, Jake and Hannah, their son Mark (Debbie) and children Amanda, Heidi, Ben and Andrew; son Matt (Lisa) and children Rachel, Meghan and Ethan; daughter Jo (Bob) Moon and their son Brent (Christine) and children Konnor, Trevor, Macy and Jordanne; son Dean (Amy) and children Emma and Evan; son Butch (Shannon) and children Bo and Samee-Jo; their daughter Marti (Dale) Miller and children Brittany, Colby, Nicole and Makenli; their son Turk (Cindy) and children Kyera, Kolton and Kooper.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests any remembrances be to the Rayton Scholarship Fund, c/o Adna High School, PO Box 148, Adna, WA 98522 or to Lewis County Historical Museum, 599 NW Front Street, Chehalis, WA 98532.
Services for Eva will be at 11:00 a.m. Friday at Stickln Mortuary. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens and a luncheon will follow at the Veterans Memorial Museum.
Please sign the guest book at www.legacy.com/chronline.