Paul Stafford

Paul W. Stafford passed away peacefully at home on December 1st, 2021, in Westminster, CO. He was born as the youngest of 4 children to Howard and Margaret Stafford on August 22nd, 1947, in Denver, CO. He was raised alongside his 3 siblings: Susan, Linda, and Warren.

Paul’s dad, Howard, passed away suddenly when Paul was only a teenager. So he grew up very close to his mother and his siblings.  Paul loved to recall his childhood memories with his siblings, like where he hid his rain boots in the shrub on the corner of their street; or they would jokingly debate about where their father, Howard, went every night to “feed the horses”. Paul’s mother, Margaret, passed away in 1977.

One of Paul’s favorite childhood memories centered around how he and his brother, Warren, would terrorize their piano teacher. One such memory was when Warren was supposed to be on the lookout, while Paul was raiding the cookie jar. That’s when Paul remembers the piano teacher calling out his name while he stood on the counter with his hand still in the cookie jar, “Uh, Paul. What are you doing?” Paul and Warren were always finding ways to cause mischief during their childhood.

A graduate of North High School, Class of 1965, Paul attended Western State College in Gunnison, CO on a music scholarship, where his older brother, Warren, was also studying music education. He was an accomplished trumpet player, and Warren was an oboe player. Paul also played baseball throughout his youth, and wanted to play in college, but he knew he should focus on his music since that was paying his tuition bill.

After college, Paul decided that teaching music was not his career of choice, so he moved back to Denver and entered the world of banking and finance. While working at Central Bank of Denver, Paul met Patty Rondinelli, who was working as the secretary to Paul’s good friend, Jim.

Paul and Patty married on May 12th, 1984. Less than a year later, they gave birth to their first son, Salvatore “Tony” in March of 1985. At the time of Tony’s birth, the family lived in Arvada. They moved to Westminster just before the birth of their second son, Philip, who was born in December of 1988.

Paul enjoyed giving back to the community, whether it was serving as the President of Northglenn Little League for 3 years or volunteering every year at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church bazaar.

After retiring from the finance industry in 2016, Paul began working part-time for Enterprise Rental Car, where he made numerous new friends.

In recent years, Paul and Patty loved to travel, as well. They went on numerous cruises, and adventures, including a trip in 2019 to Ireland, Scotland, and Iceland. For their 30th anniversary in 2014, Paul and Patty took a cruise that went through the Panama Canal. That was a very special trip for Paul, as his mother, Margaret, was born in Panama during the construction of the canal.

Paul will be remembered for his smile, his laugh, and the way he could brighten anybody’s day with his presence. He will be remembered for his endless love for his family. He will be remembered as an incredible friend for those that he knew since childhood, or even those he recently met.

Donations in Paul’s name can be made to the Denver Dumb Friends League.

A Visitation will be held on Thursday, December 9th, 2021 at 6:30PM at the Horan & McConaty Family Chapel in Arvada, CO. There will be a Funeral Mass on Friday, December 10th, 2021 at 11:00AM at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Denver, CO with a reception to follow. He will be laid to rest at 2:30PM at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, CO.

Please share memories of Paul and condolences with his family by visiting the Tribute Wall.