Our Little Sunshines: In Memory of Uncle Stafford

Growing up, I didn't know my Uncle Stafford very well. He was my mom's younger brother, the closest sibling to her in age, my grandfather's namesake, who made the rare appearance at holidays or family gatherings. But over the past couple of years he seemed to be slowly finding his way home, and we are very thankful that he did because this morning he lost his battle with lung cancer.

I don't know much about Uncle Stafford's life, but I do know that he liked making jokes and laughing as much as the rest of of the Bolton clan. (Any family gathering is filled with uproarious laughter.) I also know that he inherited my grandfather's ability to work with his hands. He was selected to work on special construction teams to build several bridges and overpasses in the Richmond area. He spoke with great pride about his involvement in these projects.

My favorite story about Uncle Stafford is one about him and my mom when they were children. Apparently one year all the children got baby ducklings for Easter. As happens with ducklings, they soon grew into ducks. Perhaps most families would then find a nice farm where the ducks could live...but not the Boltons! Over the years a number of cats, dogs, a pig (named Sam, who got run over by a car and lost his tail...but that's another story), and even a squirrel took up residence at 3717 Moss Side Avenue, so of course the ducks were welcome too! One day mom and Stafford decided that they were going to take their ducks for a walk and along the way they passed a house with two small, twin boys playing in the backyard. Mom and Stafford decided it would be funny to scare the boys, so they announced, "We're going to get our ducks to BITE you!!!" The boys ran screaming and crying into the house and mom and Stafford took their ducks and high-tailed it home! I think this is just one of the many times that this brother/sister duo made mischief together.

The Bolton Children
Beverly, Stafford, Susan, Marshall

Marshall, Stafford, Beverly, and Susan

We were very thankful that Uncle Stafford joined us this year for our much anticipated Turkey Day extravaganza. There were 29 of us this year, including 7 of the 8 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. Four generations of Boltons were represented. The oldest family member was 93 and the youngest was 5 months. What a blessing!