Dick Stafford, tireless Woodbury leader

Dick Stafford, 81, a beloved community leader in Woodbury who also served for years as auditor/treasurer of Washington County and later as a county commissioner, died early Thursday during heart surgery at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul.

"He was just one of those guys you just couldn't help but love him," said Woodbury Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens. "For our community, it's a huge loss. He was a giver, he was a doer.

"He had that infectious personality -- he just loved the community and the people in it."

Bruce Stafford said his father had faced many health issues but never lost his humor or vigor.

"Dad's thoughts on life, that I always tried to follow, were about service -- service to your country, service to your community, freedom isn't free, and always doing your part," said Bruce Stafford, former Woodbury fire chief and paramedic.

Dick Stafford's most visible legacy in Woodbury carries his name: the R.H. Stafford Library, the busiest in Washington County. But he also was deeply involved in working on behalf of veterans, helped create the Woodbury Community Foundation and worked to establish the city's ambulance service. He was active in charitable work of the Woodbury Lions Club and food shelf.

He was a strong advocate for the library project, which replaced the city's old bookmobile service and combines an indoor park with the YMCA, said Cheryl Hurst, who served on the Woodbury City Council for 12 years.

The creation of the foundation, in turn, was an outgrowth of the county's decision to name the library for him, said Alisa Rabin Bell, its executive director. "He had such servant's heart, when they told him they were giving him this honor, his response was 'I need to do something,'" she said. Pulling together friends like former Mayor Bill Hargis, the foundation was launched.

Former Gov. Arne Carlson got to know Stafford when Carlson was state auditor. "This is a huge loss for Minnesota. A huge loss," he said.

Stafford was instrumental in getting counties to adopt uniform auditing and accounting systems to keep better track of tax dollars. "First of all, he had a great personality. Second, he was knowledgeable. And third, he dearly loved local government," Carlson said. "He was at the vortex of everything affecting local governments."

Dick Stafford came from humble beginnings on St. Paul's East Side, his son said. Both of Dick Stafford's parents were in the military, and he and his brothers followed. His younger brother, a Marine, was killed in the Korean War, which is one reason Dick took special interest in the care of veterans and their families. He was a driving force behind the city's veteran's memorial project, and the Yellow Ribbon Network to aid returning veterans.

After military service, he worked for Foremost Dairies, then Pixy-Pak before it was merged with Land O'Lakes. Because of his accounting background, he was urged to run for county auditor-treasurer, a job he would hold from 1975 to 1999.

After retirement, Stafford was elected to the Washington County board, where he served until 2006. He was later summoned out of retirement to fill an unexpected vacancy after Commissioner Greg Orth died in a fall.