Inspirational teacher, supportive wife to poet William Stafford

for 50 years, the mother of four children; Dorothy Stafford was

born on a farm in Nebraska in 1916 and moved to California as

a child, where she taught school for several years before meeting

her poet husband, William Stafford, in 1944. Her long career as a

teacher shaped generations of young children.  Loved by many,

she died in 2013.  She is survived by three of her children, Kim

Stafford and Barbara Wilson of Portand, and Kit Stafford of

Sisters, her niece Julie Frantz and five grandchildren.

Naomi Shihab Nye knows the family well, she says “Dorothy had perfect pitch in her listening ear,

When she copied down the words of her four children as they were growing up and conversing,

she heard and selected the most exquisite nuggets of talk. Read LOST WORDS, revel in the pleasure

of unselfconscious talk and remember the voice inside your own grown voice. This fine little book

is huge in it’s power. It will tune you up for better listening and more appreciation of the children’s

voices around you.”