Vern & Esther Schafer

Sept 5, 1929 - Nov 20, 2017 & Jan 7, 1932 - Dec 5, 2017

Both were residents of Lafayette. They were best of friends and were married for 56 years.

Vern grew up in Grand Island Nebraska and moved to CA permanently after serving in the Korean War. Throughout his life he met and maintained a mountain of friends. The best being his wife, Esther. He worked in the real estate business in various capacities. He loved socializing and always enjoyed a good party. There are many stories of late nights at Orinda Country Club where he would spend most weekends on the links. For several years he battled skin cancer and passed away while recovering from a complicated surgery to remove a tumor.

Esther grew up in Iowa and moved to Minnesota when she was a teenager. After college, she moved to San Francisco where she met Vern. She taught elementary school for several years in the Hunters Point area of SF, then moved to Orinda for a few years and then to Lafayette. She owned and operated a small restaurant for several years in Concord. Besides keeping Vern in line, she learned to play golf and tennis and would play moderator on family outings. She was always a very active volunteer at Lafayette Elementary where she met many long time friends. She suffered from Alzheimer and passed away from related complications and probably because she somehow knew that Vern had passed recently. They are survived by their two sons, Joe and Scott and 4 grandchildren. Please send donations to Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) in lieu of flowers. There will be a celebration-of-life at Orinda CC on January 27 from 3:30pm-6:30pm.