Father, sales manager remembered by family

Ashley Stafford said she learned everything from her father, but it's the tender moment of dancing with him on a cruise ship when she was a little girl that she remembers best.

"We had to get dressed up after dinner and go on the deck and I remember him and I dancing to 'Hotel California,'" the 20-year-old college student said Wednesday. "That's something I remember, is dancing with my dad."

Scott Stafford, 46, died March 30 of a rare bone cancer, six months after he was first diagnosed. His friends and family said they will remember him as a loving father who always went out of his way to make sure they were comfortable.

Nancy Stafford, his companion of 15 years, said he welcomed her four boys into his life like they were his own. She started to read a statement she had prepared, but could not get through it without breaking down into tears. A friend took over for her.

"He was a man whose happiness depended on the happiness of those around him," said a family friend, Sydney Webb, of Phoenix. "He was a man who would not sit to eat a meal unless his friends and family were comfortable."

Scott Stafford was known for telling long, but humorous, stories. He made steak and eggs for his dog, Buddy, almost every morning. He met his future wife, Nancy Springer, and her four sons, John, David, Michael and Andrew, at Carson Dodge. He sold her a $20,000 Chrysler mini van.

"Not only was he a good salesman, but he cared about everybody who came in," said Webb. "He was honest and fair."

Stafford, who lived in Carson City for 26 years, was a sales manager at Carson Dodge. He was hired 17 years ago by Steve Christian, the general manager.

"After you work with someone that long, he's a friend," Christian said.

Carson Dodge is setting up a school trust fund for Ashley Stafford, who is a sophomore at the University of Nevada, Reno. The 20-year-old would like to become a doctor. For information contact Christian at 883-2020.

A memorial service for Stafford is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at South Reno United Methodist Church, 200 De Spain Lane.

• Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.