On May 2nd, 2021, Daniel Prince Schaeffer, loving husband, father, and son, passed away at the age of 64.
Dan was born in St. Helens, Oregon, on February 20th 1957 to Prince and Marian. He was the second oldest of four brothers. Like many young men that were unsure of their future, he joined the Coast Guard after he graduated high school. He was stationed in Michigan and had many tales of frozen nights on the Great Lakes. He worked search and rescue for four years until he stepped back into the reserves so he could go to college. He served a total of 32 years in the U.S. Coast Guard and achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer. He graduated in 1988 from Portland State University with a degree in Civil Engineering and was hired by CH2MHill, where he would stay for almost 30 years.
He married Catherine Scholz on October 17th, 1987. They honeymooned at “The Happiest Place on Earth '' and he was hooked on Disneyland ever since! Even without children, he and Cathy ran around the lands of Indiana Jones and Star Tours. This changed when his daughter, Haley, was born on August 13th, 1995. He swapped fast coasters for Dumbo and Jungle Cruise. He fit the niche of dad very well. For example, Dan went through a birdhouse building phase. He golfed. A lot. He collected baseball caps that he bent the brims of. He tucked his “Life is Good” shirts into his faded jeans that had a square worn into the back pocket from his wallet. He wore his reading glasses on a neck bungee. He enjoyed being in nature, traveling and helping others. His most recent goal was to visit all the National Parks in the United States with his wife, Cathy, with his most recent being the U.S. Virgin Islands National Park.
Dan was known to have a henway in his pocket (What’s a henway, you ask? It’s about 4 or 5 pounds.)
He made friends with every person he met and strived to make everyone laugh. His last day was spent working hard on his daughter's new house, and he managed to make three new friends just walking around the neighborhood. He wanted to be a grandpa and a house full of unfinished projects just wouldn’t be right.
Daniel died May 2nd, 2021, peacefully in his sleep with his legs crossed and a smirk on his face.