Ila J. Stafford, 87, of Grinnell died February 25, 2007, at the Mayflower Home Health Care Center in Grinnell. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Memorial contributions may be directed to Grinnell Regional Hospice. The daughter of Claude S. and Ida Gertrude Waterhouse McDonald, she was born November 8, 1917, near Denison, Iowa. She attended a rural school until the age of 12, and then due to the death of her mother she was raised by her grandparents and attended public schools in Denison. She later moved to Lester, Iowa to live with other family members and was a 1935 graduate of Lester High School. She continued her education in the school of nursing in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In 1938, she moved to Logan, Iowa and was employed in a restaurant. On September 24, 1939, she was married to Harris R. Stafford, in Logan. The couple made their home in Logan, Audubon, Pocahontas and Creston prior to moving to Webster City in 1943, where they were engaged in family operations. They moved to Grinnell in 1957 when her husband became Executive Director of the Mayflower Home. At that time she became active in the Congregational Church through the Women's Fellowship and later became the Account Executive at the Mayflower Home. Survivors include her husband, Harris of Grinnell; four sons, Lee of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, Roger of Harker Heights Texas, David of Lucas, and Wayne of Amenia, North Dakota; one sister, Claudine Kirby of Fairfield, California; eight grandchildren; and thirteen great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, Howard and Russell McDonald.