1968
David
2009
David Schaefer
June 6, 1968 — January 31, 2009
Traunik
David John Schaefer, age 40, of E3262 H-44, Traunik, died unexpectedly at home on Saturday, January 31, 2009. He was born on June 6, 1968 in Grant, Michigan to John and the late Pamela (Moody) Schaefer. Dave graduated from Rockford High School in 1986. He attended Grand Rapids Community College and then graduated from Western Michigan University with his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Anthropology. Dave then completed and earned his Master of Arts in Behavior Analysis from WMU in 1997. While at Western, he was a member the Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity. David devoted his time after college to work, bicycling on endless roads and trekking through the vastness of Michigan's woods, lakes, and wilder lands. Never was he far from his surf guitar or his big brown Ford van. He soaked in the sun and played in Michigan's beautiful sand and ended up in Beulahland.
Dave met Erika Rineer in May of 2000, prior to the wedding of their two best friends, Sara and Nicolas. Accelerated bliss followed and they were married on September 8, 2001. They proceeded to warp speed bliss which landed them in Seattle, Boulder, Anchorage, Denver, every worm hole and many musher kennels in between before settling in Traunik in 2003. With a propensity for adventure and the love of the winter season, Dave propelled himself (and Erika) into the sledding world. Over the next five years, their Siberian Husky kennel grew and expanded to thirty-five registered dogs. Intermingled in the expansion of their kennel, the beginnings of a family farm grew. It was inspired by his childhood summers spent on his family dairy farm in Conklin, Michigan. Keeping in the tradition of "old school" farming, Erika and Dave thoughtfully began nonconventional farming on their forty acres in Traunik.
To everyone who did not know Dave, he had a rare form of Macular Degeneration which significantly limited his eyesight. He was persistent and diligent in every farm chore he tackled. He was also very capable of handling a sled dog team through winding wooded trails in fierce competition. He competed in several U.P. sled dog races, the Midnight Run, the Jack Pine 30 (which in 2008 he took 8th place overall), and he also raced in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Of their thirty-three dogs, there were some notable exceptions. That being Jack - their #1 and first (even though he turned the team around every chance he got, Belle's (the other woman), Alger, Blue, Chief, Dawson, Falcon, Dakota, Utah, Fargo, and the three newbies - Gotham, Hazel, and Helmet. Dave was passionate about great food (no matter the expiration date), great beer (Belle's), great movies, and the Grateful Dead. He was fanatical about his surf music and dragged Erika to every surf show and endless guitar stores in the greater Seattle area.
Dave departed this plane of existence leaving behind his loving, selfless, and heartbroken wife - Erika; his thirty-three unconditionally loved huskies; grandparents who raised him after the death of his mother - Dorothy and Harold Moody; uncles like brothers - Gary (Sue) Moody, Mark (Pam) Moody; aunt like a sister - Sue (Moody)and Wally Sherwood; father - John (Elizabeth) Schaefer; step-sisters - Veronica and Victoria; parents-in-law - Denise (Paul) Kerridge and Ted Rineer; brothers-in-law - Justin Rineer and Matt Kerridge; special relatives of Erika's that were influential and supportive of them as a couple - Dave and Cheryl Marlin, Lynn and Dick Mann, and the late Darlene Alsup; and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Services will be held at the Bowerman Funeral Home in Munising on Friday, February 6, 2009. Visitation will be from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. A service where family and friends will be invited to participate with stories and shared memories will begin at 4:00 p.m. If one chooses to make a memorial donation, it is requested to be made to Erika while she begins her journey without David.
Many thanks to all of the mushers, nurses, doctors, farmers, and other friends for Erika during her immense time of loss.
"In the winter of our lives we seek harmony, peace, and unity; in the spring rebirth; summer growth, and the autumn to reflect and be merry. I love you forever and a day."
David John Schaefer, age 40, of E3262 H-44, Traunik, died unexpectedly at home on Saturday, January 31, 2009. He was born on June 6, 1968 in Grant, Michigan to John and the late Pamela (Moody) Schaefer. Dave graduated from Rockford High School in 1986. He attended Grand Rapids Community College and then graduated from Western Michigan University with his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Anthropology. Dave then completed and earned his Master of Arts in Behavior Analysis from WMU in 1997. While at Western, he was a member the Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity. David devoted his time after college to work, bicycling on endless roads and trekking through the vastness of Michigan's woods, lakes, and wilder lands. Never was he far from his surf guitar or his big brown Ford van. He soaked in the sun and played in Michigan's beautiful sand and ended up in Beulahland.
Dave met Erika Rineer in May of 2000, prior to the wedding of their two best friends, Sara and Nicolas. Accelerated bliss followed and they were married on September 8, 2001. They proceeded to warp speed bliss which landed them in Seattle, Boulder, Anchorage, Denver, every worm hole and many musher kennels in between before settling in Traunik in 2003. With a propensity for adventure and the love of the winter season, Dave propelled himself (and Erika) into the sledding world. Over the next five years, their Siberian Husky kennel grew and expanded to thirty-five registered dogs. Intermingled in the expansion of their kennel, the beginnings of a family farm grew. It was inspired by his childhood summers spent on his family dairy farm in Conklin, Michigan. Keeping in the tradition of "old school" farming, Erika and Dave thoughtfully began nonconventional farming on their forty acres in Traunik.
To everyone who did not know Dave, he had a rare form of Macular Degeneration which significantly limited his eyesight. He was persistent and diligent in every farm chore he tackled. He was also very capable of handling a sled dog team through winding wooded trails in fierce competition. He competed in several U.P. sled dog races, the Midnight Run, the Jack Pine 30 (which in 2008 he took 8th place overall), and he also raced in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Of their thirty-three dogs, there were some notable exceptions. That being Jack - their #1 and first (even though he turned the team around every chance he got, Belle's (the other woman), Alger, Blue, Chief, Dawson, Falcon, Dakota, Utah, Fargo, and the three newbies - Gotham, Hazel, and Helmet. Dave was passionate about great food (no matter the expiration date), great beer (Belle's), great movies, and the Grateful Dead. He was fanatical about his surf music and dragged Erika to every surf show and endless guitar stores in the greater Seattle area.
Dave departed this plane of existence leaving behind his loving, selfless, and heartbroken wife - Erika; his thirty-three unconditionally loved huskies; grandparents who raised him after the death of his mother - Dorothy and Harold Moody; uncles like brothers - Gary (Sue) Moody, Mark (Pam) Moody; aunt like a sister - Sue (Moody)and Wally Sherwood; father - John (Elizabeth) Schaefer; step-sisters - Veronica and Victoria; parents-in-law - Denise (Paul) Kerridge and Ted Rineer; brothers-in-law - Justin Rineer and Matt Kerridge; special relatives of Erika's that were influential and supportive of them as a couple - Dave and Cheryl Marlin, Lynn and Dick Mann, and the late Darlene Alsup; and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Services will be held at the Bowerman Funeral Home in Munising on Friday, February 6, 2009. Visitation will be from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. A service where family and friends will be invited to participate with stories and shared memories will begin at 4:00 p.m. If one chooses to make a memorial donation, it is requested to be made to Erika while she begins her journey without David.
Many thanks to all of the mushers, nurses, doctors, farmers, and other friends for Erika during her immense time of loss.
"In the winter of our lives we seek harmony, peace, and unity; in the spring rebirth; summer growth, and the autumn to reflect and be merry. I love you forever and a day."
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