Welden "Bill" M. STAUFFER

STAUFFER, DE ROSE, LA FLEUR, CLEVELAND

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 2/17/2007 at 11:26:33

March 31, 2004
Mail Tribune, Medford, Oregon

Welden "Bill" M. Stauffer
Full Military Services will be held at the Eagle Point National Cemetery on Friday, April 2, 2004 at 10 a. m. Reverend Alan Jackson of Westminster Presbyterian Church will officiate. Welden passed peacefully in his sleep on March 27, 2004 after having been cared for at the VA SORCC for the past several weeks. He was born July 27, 1920 in Eagle Grove, Iowa to Emil & Eva Stauffer. Welden enlisted in the military in 1939, his first career, and served with distinction in the Army Air Corp and then the Air Force, finally retiring in July of 1960. He survived the BATAAN Death March and three and half years in Mukden, Manchuria prison camp before being liberated. He was awarded numerous medals including the Prisoner of War Medal and a Bronze Star. He rose to the rank of Chief Master Sergeant and was awarded one of the first 600 E-9 rank designations approved by the Department of Defense in 1959. After retirement from the military, Welden joined the Oregon Employment Division rising quickly to an office management level. After managing the Tillamook office, he returned to Medford where he managed that office for numerous years until his second retirement in 1982. In the years after dual retirements, he enjoyed stamp collecting, woodworking, billiards, fishing, hunting and collecting key chains and miniature toys. He was a lifetime member of the Elks in Ashland, having been a member for 59 years. Memorial contributions may be made to the Elks Scholarship Fund at the Ashland Elks Lodge.

He was preceded in death in 1995 by his wife of 49 years, Grace Cleveland, Stauffer his sister Donna De Rose in April 1 2003 and parents Emil & Eva Stauffer. His survivors include two sons, Cary Stauffer of Central Point &; Terry Stauffer of Medford; a sister, Rosalie La Fleur of Medford; three grandchildren, Ryan Stauffer of Seattle, WA, Courtney Stauffer of Medford and Alsacea Stauffer of Central Point; three great-grandchildren, Sidney Stauffer, Cole Welden Stauffer and Ruby Dale Stauffer all of Seattle, WA. Welden was an honorable man who served his country and citizens with dedication and pride Those he left behind will miss him very much. "Thc faults of our brothers we write upon the sand, their virtues upon the tablets of love and memory." Arrangements: Rogue Valley Funeral Alternatives, Medford.