Dequita ‘Clete’ Stafford

Dec. 25, 1935 — Nov. 6, 2020

Long time Tuolumne County resident Clete Stafford passed away Friday morning, Nov. 6, surrounded by her family. Clete was born Dequita Chadwell on Dec. 25, 1935, in La Follette, Tennessee. In 1937 her family moved to the town of Melones, where she was raised.

Clete graduated from Bret Harte High School in 1954 and began working for Pacific Telephone and Telegraph in Sonora. There she would meet her future husband, Joe Stafford. The two married in 1957 and lived in Modesto for a short time and moved back to Sonora in 1962. Clete helped open a Sonora branch of Modesto Saving and Loan, then worked for Tuolumne County Clerk Carlo De Ferrari and later for Yosemite Title Company until her retirement.

Her husband, Joe, became a member of the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Posse in 1971. Soon after Clete became just as involved in posse functions. In the posse, they made lifelong, cherished friends. Most of their retirement was enjoyed traveling the continental U.S., and their most enjoyed travel was with their friends and fellow posse members. Joe was instrumental in building and maintaining the posse’s clubhouse on Rawhide Road. After his passing, Clete stepped into his role and also handled booking and bookkeeping for many special events.

Clete is survived by her daughter Cheryl Lynn Mclane, of Sonora; granddaughter, Jodi Rosales, of Oakdale; great-grandson, Gabriel Rosales, also of Oakdale; and grandsonin-law, Ramon Rosales, of Sonora; brother, Paul Chadwell, of Costa Mesa; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Clete was preceded in death by her husband of 49 years, Joe Stafford; her parents, Henry and Dorothy Chadwell; sister Maydeen Stockwell and brother Mitchell Chadwell.

Clete’s celebration of life will be postponed until a later date when it is safe to have the large gathering that she deserves.