John Steven Stafford, 50, of Georgetown, Texas, devoted and proud father of John, Sophie and Brendan, and cherished son Patrick (P.J.) who predeceased him, passed away last week.  Beloved son of Tim and Carol; brother of Courtney (David), Michael (Alisa) and Tim (Jennifer), son-in-law of Geoff and Linda Goldsmith and brother-in-law of Kristen Melcher (Jeff) and Matthew Goldsmith, John grew up in Verona, New Jersey.  Family was first for John; he was a loving, proud, intensely supportive, and incredibly generous Uncle, he was a caring nephew and cousin, and he was a faithful friend to thousands.

After studying at Ramapo College of New Jersey and UC Santa Barbara, John settled in Santa Barbara where he met, fell in love with and married Heather (Goldsmith).  Through fierce hard work, John rose to the pinnacle of his sales industry ultimately culminating with his owning two companies in multiple states.

John was a hockey player; no opponent or injury slowed him down.  He played on his high school team and on multiple club and travel teams, selected after tryouts for his skill but with coach after coach citing that he couldn't be omitted because he was so good in the room.  As he so supported his family, he ferociously supported his teammates.

John was a reader, a lover of music and a writer.  He enthusiastically attended hundreds of concerts and sporting events, was a storyteller, a comedian and a prankster and he was full of shenanigans.

Known for his wit, humor, business acumen and plain desire to help every single person he met, John leaves a family that is grieving and heartbroken but that is awed by the sheer number of people he positively touched in his all-too-short life.

To honor John's love of pets and particularly dogs, in lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter, 1855 SE Inner Loop, Georgetown, TX, 78626 by clicking https://pets.wilco.org/How-to-Help/Donations .