Obituary: Anne Alexandra Stafford

Anne Alexandra Stafford, departed this life on Friday, Feb. 28, while surrounded by her family.

She was a native of Kingsport, where she was born on Aug. 2, 1961, and later moved to Memphis.

She was a 1979 graduate of Lausanne Collegiate School, earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature from her beloved University of Tennessee, and her master’s degree in English in 1985.

She attended Loyola Law School in New Orleans, taught English at the University of New Orleans from 1987- 1991, then headed north to pursue her doctorate in rhetoric and composition at the University of Pittsburgh, which she earned in 2001.

She returned to the University of Tennessee as adjunct professor of English literature, where she stayed until 2008. She also taught through Phoenix University and other Web-based institutions. In her long teaching career, she mentored many students and received numerous fellowships and recognitions for her teaching abilities.

While a student at UT, she served as poetry editor for the Phoenix Literary Magazine and was a member, and served as a marshall, of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. In 1982, she was published in Pegasus, the Journal of the National Poetry Press.

An active member of St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral in Knoxville, she taught elementary Sunday school and vacation bible school.

She was a contributor to the Oak Ridge Observer.

An animal lover extraordinaire, she was an advocate for prevention of cruelty to animals and loved her cats and dogs. 
She is survived by her parents, G. Marian Stout Stafford and David Todd Stafford of Oak Ridge; her sister Amy Stafford Malik and husband John; and niece, Holly Renee Malik, and nephew, Tudor David Malik, all of Greenville, S.C. She leaves many relatives and friends not only in Tennessee but across multiple boundaries.

Funeral services will be held at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Oak Ridge at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 22, followed by interment in the Memorial Garden at St. Stephen’s and a reception at the church.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be sent to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 212 Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 or S.A.R.G. http://shelteranimalsrescue.org/ of Oak Ridge.

Martin Oak Ridge Funeral Home is serving the Stafford family.

Online messages may be left at www.martinfuneralhomeoakridge.com.