Ronald G. Schafer, 78, of Columbus, Nebraska, died Sunday, April 14, 2024, at the Columbus Community Hospital.
A Celebration of Life will be on Saturday, April 20 at 11:00 AM, at Christ Lutheran Church, rural Columbus, with Rev. William Voelker officiating. Visitation will be on Friday from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM at Gass Haney Funeral Home and continue Saturday from 10:00 AM until service time at the church. There will be no burial, as Ron's wishes for cremation will take place after the service. Memorials are suggested to Columbus Community Hospital, Christ Lutheran Church, UNMC Cancer Research, or City Mission in Lincoln.
Ronald George Schafer was born February 16, 1946, in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Jacob and Ruth (Schmidt) Schafer. Ron was baptized on April 7, 1946, at Emanuel Reformed Church. He graduated from Lincoln Northeast High School and attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln on a four-year Regents Scholarship. Ron graduated from UNL with a degree in Electrical Engineering and went on to receive his masters in 1970. On August 24, 1969, Ron was united in marriage to Rosemae Winkelman. His professional career included Bell Labs in Holmdel, NJ, Ogallala Electronics in Ogallala, NE, and Nebraska Public Power District in Columbus which he retired from after 28 years of employment.
Ron grew up in Lincoln and was a self-described "city boy". As a young man Ron earned spending money by delivering newspapers with his bicycle. This led to him putting a small gasoline engine on a bicycle with a simple belt drive to create a motorbike. That homemade motorbike was then sold or traded for a motorcycle, and then a few more. His mother Ruth commented she was always glad when Ron had his motorcycles torn apart in the garage - since when they were broken and torn apart, she didn't have to worry about him getting hurt on them. One of the motorcycles was a brand-new Honda, which Ron bought because there was a bright color brochure on it claiming a top speed of 45 mph and 200 miles on a tank of fuel. Purchasing it and riding around, he was promptly disappointed to find out it would only go 35 mph. After riding it just 100 miles the engine stopped running. It was only after checking everything else such as the key switch and spark that he opened the gas tank and was completely shocked to find it empty. This experience may have contributed to Ron always over-researching anything that he was looking at buying.
Ron was a walking encyclopedia of various numbers, figures, and facts. He could quickly and easily calculate seemingly anything in his head whether that be costs, weights, volumes, or forces. Interestingly, Ron did not at all enjoy grade school and at the time of graduating high school, he did not have plans to go to college. At his parent’s request, Ron asked a neighbor who was a professor at the University of Nebraska about college. That professor listened to Ron plead his case for not going to college and then simply suggested that "it would do him good to go to college". That neighbor also set up a summer job for Ron at a ranch in Paxton, NE. One summer turned into another summer at a farm near Ogallala, and it was there that Ron's interest in agriculture started. Ron had a clear memory and was an enthusiastic storyteller, making it seem as if one was right there with him. Stories from those summer adventures were told many times to his children and grandchildren.
While working in Ogallala, Ron and Rosemae began farming as a sideline hobby. It was there that they purchased his first tractor, a John Deere R, for $400. Rosemae also around that time got a horse. When they moved to Columbus for Ron's work, they found a place to board the horse. However, they knew an acreage of their own was what they wanted and began searching. In 1977, they purchased a rundown farm place overgrown with trees and 80 acres. This was enough space for not only the horse, but other livestock. Ron soon began farming the row crop acres and purchased a John Deere 730 Diesel tractor for this task. Ron had an interest in building up the soil and practiced no-till and minimum tillage. Over the years the soil became more productive, and yields increased. However, Ron did not measure his harvest in bushels, rather the harvest was measured in "fun per acre". Ron definitely had the most "fun per acre". Ron thrived on hard work and over the years the overgrown acreage was cleared of the many trees, fences were built, and buildings updated. As the cost of row crop production increased, Ron found the "fun per acre" yield lower. This led to row crop acres being planted to alfalfa and then eventually turned into grassland and the cow herd increased. With the cow herd increased, Ron had the opportunity to research what bull to use as an AI sire. Many hours were spent comparing and tabulating data on different bulls - a task Ron loved doing.
Shortly after moving to the rural Columbus acreage in 1978, neighbors Milton and Esther Dirks along with Norman and Elaine Korte welcomed Ron and Rosemae to the area. The Dirks and Kortes became close friends of Ron and Rosemae's as well as sponsors for children Camille and Derek. Ron and Rosemae joined Christ Lutheran Church, and since Ron had been in the Lincoln Boys Choir as a youngster, it was natural that he also joined the Christ Lutheran Church Choir. Ron thoroughly enjoyed singing with his powerful bass voice. Many great memories were made by Ron helping with the Choir Dinner Concert. Ron's voice blended wonderfully with the late James Mueller and they sang many beautiful duets together.
Being an electrical engineer, Ron always had a desire for an all-electric car. This dream became a reality in February of 2020 with the purchase of a Chevy Bolt. While Ron did not ever get to drive this car on the highway, he would get it out of the garage and ready for a trip. While riding as the passenger, he would monitor the electricity usage and give "pointers" to Rosemae on how she could drive differently for greater efficiency. A commercial grade Stihl battery powered string trimmer was added to the tool arsenal followed shortly after by an electric chain saw. There were discussions about an electric riding lawnmower, and even more discussion about the recently released all electric Farmall tractor. Ron couldn't quite pencil out a way to justify a new tractor - and apparently Farmall doesn't print bright color brochures.
Another lifelong passion of Ron's was fitness. Even though he may have not had the smoothest stride or been a natural runner, that did not stop him from logging many miles of jogging. While at college he often ran on the track at UNL. In Columbus, he would drive the 1/2 mile to the nearest gravel road, and then run 3 to 4 miles - typically in the morning before work in most all-weather conditions. At some point in time, a treadmill was purchased for use on inclement days. Not one to usually buy extended warranties, the treadmill was an exception to the norm, much to Sears warranty department's dismay - as it had to be rebuilt multiple times due to how much use it got. Ron also lifted weights throughout the years. In most recent years the treadmill was replaced with an elliptical machine, which was easier on the knees and feet. This elliptical was his benchmark to how he was keeping up with his fitness, as it would keep track of rpms and resistance. Recently, the rpms on the elliptical were lower, the resistance less, and the weights lighter - but Ron never stopped working out right up to the last few days.
Ron was a compassionate and caring individual who always took the time to listen intently to his children and grandchildren talk about what was going on in their lives. While not a natural talker, he worked to become a better conversationalist and got quite good at engaging in conversation with new acquaintances. Ron was always very supportive of his children's interests and spent many hours helping them pursue various activities. His influence is reflected by his children, grandchildren, nephews, and nieces. Ron's detailed and lengthy conversations will be missed by many. Ron didn't just live for 78 years; he was alive for 78 years.
Ron is survived by:
Wife – Rosemae Schafer
Daughter – Camille (Jason) Fatone
Son – Derek (Rachel) Schafer
Grandchildren – Anthony, Noah, and Camron Bailous, Lincoln and August Fatone, Zachary and Jenna Schafer
Sister – Barbara (Doug) Hellerich
Brothers – Dennis and Steve Schafer
Nephews – Erich (Alicia) Schafer, Ryan (Nikki) Schafer, Jeff (Amy) Hellerich, and David (Katrina) Schafer
Nieces – Susan (Josh) Morgan and Emily (Matt Hajdun) Schafer
Ron was preceded in death by
Parents – Jacob and Ruth Schafer
Sister-in-law – Linda Schafer
