 Descendant of a pioneer California family, Richard Dorr Schaffer, M.D., passed away on February 13,2002. He was the only child of Tressa Musto and Walter Raleigh Wood Schaffer. Born in San Francisco, California on March 23, 1926, Dick grew up participating in the Boy Scouts and earned his Eagle Scout award. He graduated from Washington High School. During World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and studied in the Japanese language program at the University of Chicago. Dick was then stationed near Kyoto, Japan, serving in the 126th Signal Radio Intelligence Company. A member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, Dick graduated from Stanford University in 1948 and from Stanford Medical School in 1952. After further training in urology, he established his surgical practice in San Mateo for 35 years, until retirement. Dick loved the desert, the mountains and the ocean. He was an avid golfer, gardner and bird watcher. He relished American history and was a proud member of the Mayflower Society and the Society of American Pioneers. Yet, his true passion was for his family and friends, who hold his memory close to their hearts. Dick is survived by his daughters, Susan Loomis Schaffer of Burlingame, Teresa Schaffer Medearis and Mary Schaffer Miller, of Palo Alto; a grandson, Nicholas Allen Medearis; and was preceded in death, in October 2001, by his son, John Eliot Musto Schaffer. Private services were held on February 22, 2002 beside the family plot at the Santa Barbara Cemetery in Montecito. The family requests any donations be made in memory of Richard Dorr Schaffer be made to: The Living Desert, 47900 Portola, Palm Desert, CA 92260 (760) 346-5694 "Under the wide and starry sky, This be the verse you grave for me: "Requiem" by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1913. Dick, at the trail's end, may you find peace.  |
