Thomas Andrew Schaefer

Thomas Andrew Schaefer passed away on Sunday, June 6, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio after battling cancer.

Tom was born in Cleveland on December 14, 1941. He attended Immaculate Conception Catholic School and then Kirtland High School, playing football and basketball. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business from Cleveland State University.

After graduation, Tom worked at Addressograph-Multigraph in Accounting. Tom, and his then wife, and three children lived in South Euclid from 1970 - 1975.

In 1975, Tom and his family moved to Kailua, Hawaii, where he ran a leather business with a good friend.
After the business dissolved, he spent most of his career at Bank of Hawaii. He was on a work bowling league and enjoyed playing darts with friends. He was in Indian Guides with his son in Hawaii, with the given names of Rising Sun and Setting Sun. He still refers to “Hawaii Time” and “Aloha Friday” when the occasion called for it. He moved back to Kirtland later in life.

His biggest passion was “the little white ball.” Though he played golf throughout his life, he became serious about it after retirement, playing 2-3 times a week - as long as tee-off was above 50 degrees. He played in local golf leagues as well as a league in Dallas.

He was an active sports fan watching football, and of course golf. He was always up-to-date on current events and politics, and was known to have strong opinions. Tom always had a one-liner available for any occasion and was usually the one laughing the loudest at his own jokes. He loved traveling to Dallas and to Hawaii to spend time with his family and friends.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents, John and Beatrice; his brother, John, and his daughter, Dana.

Tom is survived by his son, Thomas Anthony (Nora) and his four children: Jarred, Samantha, Caden, and Quinn; his daughter, Lori Angelot (Stephane) and their children, Austin and Axel; his sister, Mary McCall (Pat); his sister-in-law, Bonnie Schaefer, and several nephews and nieces.

Pops loved life and people, and life and people loved him back. He will be deeply missed.

The memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 19, from 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm, with family receiving visitors starting at 11:30 a.m. The location is Davis-Babcock Funeral Home, 4154 Clark Avenue, Willoughby, Ohio.

Donations can be made in memory of Tom Schaefer to the food pantry at Old South United Church in Kirtland: http://oldsouthchurch.org/donate.html