Richard Alan Schaefer's Obituary
Richard Alan Schaefer, age 91, a resident of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, passed from this life, Friday, November 10, 2023, in Broken Arrow. He was born March 23, 1932, to Paul and Ellen Schaefer (Hatcher) at St. John's Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is survived by his beloved wife of 51 years, Nancy Schaefer, daughter Susan Schaefer, step-daughters Becki Brown (Mark) and Beth Grounds (Dave), grandchildren Joshua Brown, Jennifer Brown, Zachary Flaxbeard (Laura), Zoey Davis (Tommy), Emily Sullivan (Carl), Kristen Durning (Ryan), and his cat Gummy Kitty. Richard is preceded in death by his parents Paul and Ellen Schaefer, aunt Hattie Neis, cousin Bob Neis, step-son Thomas Flaxbeard, and his cat Good Kitty.
Richard graduated high school from Central High School in Tulsa in 1950 and received his Engineering degree from OU in 1955. While there, he was in ROTC and joined the Army. He rose to First Lieutenant at the end of his service. He was stationed at the Army Pictorial Center on Long Island where Elvis Presley served. He returned to Tulsa to work for Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO). He worked as an Electrical Engineer for 35 years when he retired in 1993.
Richard was twelve years old when his father died. He became affiliated with DeMolay and eventually became a 32nd degree Master Mason. He served as a Deacon at his church, the First Christian Church in Jenks. He loved sailing with the Windycrest Sailing Club at Keystone Lake. In retirement, he worked as a volunteer judge for the Tulsa Regional Science and Engineering Fair. At Christmas, he would paint himself green to be the Grinch for Beth's first- and second-grade classes. He continued to work for PSO as a consultant after retiring. His interests included family, computer programming, watching TV, home improvement projects and his cats.
He was a wonderful husband and father. He will be greatly missed and will forever be our Grumps.
Visitation will be held from 5 - 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at Floral Haven Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 16,2023 at Floral Haven's Funeral Home Chapel with burial to follow at Floral Haven Memorial Gardens.
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