Lillian Leona Schaffer

Lillian Leona Schaffer passed away peacefully on May 20, 2010 at the age of 75.

She was loved by her family and many friends.

Lillian Leona Schaffer was born to parents Victor and Amanda Charn on April 24, 1935 in St. Joseph, Michigan. She grew up in Sawyer, Michigan and graduated valedictorian of her 1953 New Troy High School class. She attended South Bend Business College and worked at the  Whirlpool Company and Hillsdale College.

Lillian first met her husband Albert in junior high school. They married in 1954 at the Harbert Community Church in Sawyer and spent thirty-three years living in Michigan in the towns of Litchfield, Blissfield, and Grand Haven before moving to Ramona, CA in 1987.

Lillian’s passions were singing and music. As a girl she studied piano in Chicago and sang solos in church. Later, Lillian studied voice from Juanita Brown in Toledo, OH, performed in the musical Guys and Dolls, and sang in the Toledo Chorale Society and in church choirs as a member of Presbyterian churches in Michigan and Rancho Bernardo, CA. In addition, Lillian sang the national anthem at her coaching husband’s basketball games and also performed at her son Kirk’s wedding. Besides music, Lillian’s other interests included her Swedish heritage, flower garden, traveling,  collecting cookbooks, and spending time with the family’s beloved dachshunds. 

Lillian is survived and will be missed by her husband Al; children Jeffrey Lynn, Kirk Alan, and Jill Amanda; daughter-in-laws Mary Jo and Jan; grandchildren Albert Henry III, Laura Charn, John, Amy, Thomas, Joseph, Abigail, and Jimmy.

A memorial was held May 24 at the Rancho Bernardo Presbyterian Church in Rancho Bernardo, CA. A Michigan memorial will be held on June 5 at 11:00 am at the New Troy Community Center in New Troy, MI. Reception to follow.    

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First Presbyterian Church, Organ Restoration Fund, % Mary Case, Financial Secretary, 304 Franklin Street, Blissfield, MI 49228; Ramona Bulldog Booster Club, Coach Earl Scholarship fund, 1308 Main St., Suite 203, Ramona, CA 92065.