OBIT: John Raleigh STAIRS, 2007, native of Somerset County, PA
 
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  STAIRS, John Raleigh  03/27/07   Daily American
  
   John Raleigh Stairs, 97, Keystone Heights, Fla., formerly of Somerset, passed on March
  25, 2007, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla. Born July 7, 1909, in Upper
  Turkeyfoot Township, he is the son of the late William and Elizabeth (Colborn) Stairs. He
  is also preceded in death by his wife, Mary Alice (Trimpey) Stairs in 1991; daughter,
  Marjorie Reed in 2006; son-in-law, Donald Thomas in 2005; sisters, Mary Lou Groff and
  Beth Stahl; and brother, James Stairs. He is survived by children, Donna Thomas,
  Connellsville; Mary Jane Smith, married to William, of Apex, N.C.; John Stairs, married
  to Madeline (Clewley), Plymouth, Ind.; Harold Stairs, married to Belinda (Leasure),
  Keystone Heights, Fla.; and Tim Stairs, married to Edna (Hay), Somerset. He was loved and
  admired by 16 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren. He worked for 34 years in the clay
  mines in Fort Hill and in 1957 he founded Stairs' Restaurant on old Route 219, which
  remained in operation in the family for 50 years. He then moved with Mary Alice to
  Florida where lived for the past 35 years. Friends will be received from 7 to 9 p.m.
  Thursday at Miller Funeral Home, Somerset, where a service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday.
  The Rev. J.R. Stairs officiating. Interment at Somerset County Memorial Park.