Hubert Schafer

Hubert Schafer was a hardworking, helpful handy man, a man of such great skill, patience and persistence. Hubert loved to tinker, to take old items and make them new again, so much better than before. He was the same with all those around him, as a loving husband, coworker and friend to so many. Hubert had a way of making us feel new again, too, and so much better for knowing him.

Hubert’s story began on a warm summer day in 1935, in the bustling city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Those were dire days in this country, still caught in the thick of the Great Depression, when times were so tough for so many. Yet on September 4, 1935, Raymond and Lucille (Cubitt) Schafer found reason to celebrate, with the birth of a baby boy, a son they named Hubert Ray. His mother said Hubert meant “strength and loveableness,” traits she wanted to instill in her newborn son. How right she would be.

Little Hubert (or “Sonny” as he was called when he was young) was the fourth child in the family’s devoutly Catholic home. As a boy, Hubert attended St. Mary’s Catholic School, adjacent to the church that played such an integral role in his life. At St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Hubert received Baptism, the Holy Eucharist and Confirmation as a boy, and later in life he would be married there, too.

Hubert attended St. Mary’s School for a time, but he sadly suffered hearing loss as a boy, making school too difficult to continue.

Hubert was a very bright young man nonetheless, and became his father’s unofficial apprentice. His dad worked for the City of Grand Rapids as a blacksmith, and was a very talented man who could seemingly build anything, including his own beloved home.

Hubert followed in his father’s footsteps, and eventually went to work for the City of Grand Rapids, too. He was a faithful 35-year employee for the city, working in street maintenance, primarily. Hubert handled the snow plowing in the winter, operated the heavy equipment and did his share of truck driving, too. You name it, and he drove it, hauled it, built it or repaired it.

As a second job, Hubert worked as a bouncer at Westwood on West River Drive, and at the Shamrock on Bridge Street, where he made many friends (and maybe a few foes, too!). Of course, it was hard not to love Hubert, who was at heart a very kind, charitable man.

In 1985, Hubert went to the Commonweal Singles for Charity event, where he met a wonderful woman named Sheryl “Sheri” Peterson. After so many years of looking for the right woman to share his life with, Hubert knew right away he had finally found her. He and Sheri fell deeply in love, and were soon married at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

Hubert loved Sheri so much, and always said he wished they had met many years earlier. Sheri adored him, too, and would often say, “He’s my honey” or “He’s my love.” The couple lived in a very old farmhouse on O'Brien Road SW, a home they loved, full of history and character. Hubert and Sheri completely gutted the house after he retired, and totally renovated it over the years. It is the oldest house in the area and might well be the original O’Brien farmhouse.

Hubert had other loves, like his Ducati motorcycle, and his many beloved dogs over the years, especially Bobby and Lucy. He loved animals of all kinds, and enjoyed feeding the hummingbirds in his backyard. He also relished a good cup of hazelnut coffee, and spending time with his many friends, especially Andrea Benson, John and Tammy Sproat, Jeremy Berends and Dan Jager, who often came to Hubert for advice.

Most of all, Hubert just loved to keep busy, and was always working, building or tinkering with something. He built Sheri a beautiful nativity crèche, and loved to build lamps, rebuild bikes (which he donated to needy kids), and many other things, often from discarded items. He was a master at sharpening knives, and loved to polish tarnished brass back into a brilliant shine. More than anything, Hubert loved taking something old and making it new again.

Hubert’s health began to decline in the late 1990s, and picked up momentum in 2004. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on May 10, 2007, and sadly lost the battle on July 18, at the age of 71.

Hubert was a wonderful man, a hardworking, helpful handy man, a man of skill, strength and compassion for all those around him. He was a loving husband, generous neighbor, and a great friend to so many. Most of all, Hubert was a man who could make old things new again, and better than before, just like all of those who knew him. He will be greatly missed.

Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his siblings, Cheryl La Mae Schafer and Marilyn Lucile Schafer; brothers-in-law, Robert M. Bechtold and Larry E. Marshall.

He leaves behind his wife, Sheryl Louise (Peterson) Schafer; his sister, Janette Marcile (Schafer) Bechtold; sister-in-law, Patricia A. Marshall; brothers-in-law and their wives, Michael and Arlene Peterson and Richard and Dory Peterson; beloved nieces and nephews, Nicole, Ryan, Monica, Don, Jason, M. Todd, Laura and Chris grand nieces and nephews, Nathan, Jessica, Madeline, Olivia, Ben, Maddie and Katie. Other nieces and nephews are sister Janette’s children, Michael R. Bechtold, Valerie and Alex Van Vianen, Marjorie C. Cherneski, Raymond and Jessica Bechtold, Cheryle E. Bechtold and David and Joan Page and grand nieces and nephews; Amanda, Adam, Andrew, Brandon, Melonie, Michael, Deanna, Justin, Emily, Tyler, Brittany, Joshua, Sophia and Hannah; great grand nieces and nephews Brandi, Alicia, Brandon, Jr. and Diego; he leaves his endeared Aunt Kathryn L. Schafer, her children, his cousins and their families, Louise Tolodziecki, Philip Schafer, Francis and Bernadette Schafer; also with endearment, his Aunt Cecilia J. Schafer and her children, his cousins, Larry and Wanda Schafer, Theresa and Gary Kotrch, Joe and Mary Schafer, Mary and Fred Cheslek, John and Lee Schafer, Tom and Valerie Schafer, Gerry and Stephanie Schafer, Donna and James Poulias, Diane and Richard Whaley, Annette and Scott Westen, Amy and Joe Spielmaker; other cherished cousins Leo and Diane Schafer, Leslie and Diane Denhof, Kenneth and Mary Denhof, Robert E. Schafer, Dorothy and Al Gould, Gerald and Donna Kehoe, Gerald and Kaye Lusk, Bill and Linda Schafer.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, July 21, 2007 at 10:00 AM at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 2230 Lake Michigan Dr. NW with interment in Resurrection Cemetery. Friends may meet the family at Heritage Life Story Funeral Home – Alt & Shawmut Hills Chapel, 2120 Lake Michigan Dr. NW on Friday from 2-4 & 7-9 PM where a Vigil Service will be held at 7:30 PM. and at the church for one hour prior to the Mass. Memorials contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association, Brassworks Building, 648 Monroe Ave. NW, Suite 400, Grand Rapids 49503 or Hospice of Michigan, 1260 Ekhart NE, Grand Rapids, 49503. You may read Hubert’s Life Story, sign the guestbook or share a memory of Hubert at www.lifestorynet.com.