H Justin Stafford-Wilson, age 43, passed away at his home in San Francisco, California on July 1, 2022 after a two year battle with Glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. He had been under the expert care of the University of California at San Francisco’s Neurological Oncology
Division. Justin is survived by his wife, Emily Jean Anthony, his father, Anthony Gordon Wilson, his mother, Suzanne Beane Stafford, his sisters, Daegan Stafford-Crews and Vanessa Wilson, his brother, Zachary Wilson, numerous aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews and his family dog, Addie. His beloved maternal grandmother, Rachel Stafford Potts of Kernersville, NC, passed away March 15, 2013.
Justin was born August 2, 1978 in San Francisco, CA and christened at Grace Cathedral. He grew up in Colfax, NC and attended Bunker Hill United Methodist Church. He graduated from Northwest Guilford High School, attended East Carolina University and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from San Francisco State University. He later went on to receive a Masters of Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California. For most of his career, Justin worked with his family at Wilson Associates, their San Francisco Bay Area residential and commercial property development business, as well as on independent projects. He also spent five years as the manager of the family’s Hapuku Lodge + Tree Houses, in Kaikoura, New Zealand.
Justin loved to travel, go to concerts and spend time with friends and family. One of his favorite pastimes was hunting, a passion he renewed in recent years. Justin grew up hunting alongside his Uncle Phillip Potts, in North Carolina. Over the past few years, he explored hunting in and around the San Francisco Bay Area, strengthened by his deep appreciation of the quiet and beauty of nature. He and his wife completed their dream home in the Mission District of San Francisco only months before his diagnosis in August 2020. Justin was able to take a full measure of life. In both personal and professional settings, he was always positive, supportive and nurturing to those around him. He will be dearly missed by all.
A Memorial Service was held Saturday, July 9, 2022 in San Francisco at the First Unitarian Church. A Remembrance Celebration will be held in Colfax in late summer.
Please direct donations to the UCSF Neuro-Oncology, c/o Dr. Nancy Ann Oberheim Bush, PO Box 45339, San Francisco, CA 94145-0339.
