Viola Stafford

Viola J. Stafford, 65, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, March 19, 2014, at her home.

She was born Feb. 12, 1949, in Cape Girardeau, to Mitchell D. Stafford Sr. and Minnie Lue Stafford.

Viola was preceded in death by her parents; five brothers, Lindsay, John, Mitchell Jr., Walter and Joseph Stafford.

Survivors include a daughter, Gabrielle T. Stafford of St. Louis; four brothers, James Stafford of Dallas, Bill and Eugene Stafford of Detroit and Ben Stafford of Jackson; three sisters, Ann Shares of Nashville, Tenn., Regina Jones of Cape Girardeau and Denise Warren of Overland Park, Kan.; and two very dear friends, Mary Nichols of Los Angeles and Armi Lucius of Allen Park, Mich.

Vi was a loving mother, and her daughter, Gabi, was the joy of her life. She was also the loving aunt of many nieces and nephews.

She received bachelor of arts degrees in psychology and sociology from the University of Kansas in 1971 and a master of arts in sociology from the University of Michigan in 1973. She also received a certificate in employee relations law (CERL) -- Institute of Applied Management Law (Newport Beach, Calif.), and senior professional in human resources (SPHR) -- Human Resources Certification Inc. (HRCI) (Alexandria, Va.).

Vi worked for the state of Michigan (Oak Park) as a disability claims examiner and was a part-time instructor at Detroit College of Business in Dearborn, Mich., after she received her masters. She also held various executive level positions in human resources at Monsanto Co. in Sauget, Ill., Duracell USA in Lexington, N.C., Dart & Kraft Inc. in Northbrook, Ill., and Digital Equipment Corp./Hewlett-Packard in Maynard, Mass., Salem, N.H., and Greenville, S.C.

She also was an entrepreneur and was publisher/owner of St. Louis Kids Directory in Ballwin, Mo., and was writing her autobiography.

Vi enjoyed traveling, sewing, interior decorating, shopping, collecting Lladdro, writing and helping others. She was the "rock" of our family that we could depend on. We will miss her big heart, great sense of humor and laughter.

A graveside service will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Lorimier Cemetery.

McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be sent to the Lupus Foundation, Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation or Southeast Hospice.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at mccombsfuneralhome.com.