John E. Schaefer died at his winter residence in Cottonwood, Ariz., on Dec. 5, 2009. The eldest son of the Reverend John E. and Elsa (Mehrstedt) Schaefer, he was born on June 18, 1918, in Alma City, Minn.

John served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, seeing shipboard action in the North Atlantic and South Pacific. Following the war, he settled in Phoenix, Ariz., and married Ruth Clinger in 1947.

He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil and electrical engineering from the universities of Minnesota and Arizona and was employed for 34 years by Yost & Gardner Engineers in Phoenix, serving for eight years as company president.

He retired briefly when he and his family moved to Whidbey Island in Washington State in 1980, but then made the technological leap from slide rule and drafting board to AutoCAD and continued working for another 15 years, including serving as Coupeville’s Town Engineer.

John was an avid reader, conversationalist and thinker, and a writer of letters and poetry. He was an enthusiastic fisherman who enjoyed back-country rambles and was always interested in identifying the birds and plants seen along the way. He especially appreciated a good apple pie.

A lifelong Lutheran, he was an ardent Bible scholar, study group participant and leader, and served on many committees, most notably in the areas of evangelism, building and education.

He is survived by his wife Ruth (Pranspill) Schaefer of Cottonwood, Ariz; and daughter and son-in-law, Martha and Steve Ellis of Coupeville; as well as numerous other relatives, including nieces Susan Schaefer of Milwaukee, Wisc., Callie Masten of Carpentersville, Ill., Ruth Councell and husband George of Pennington, N.J., Anne Tietjen and husband John Barker of Bellingham, and nephew Jim Tietjen and wife Sevil of Huntsville, Ala.

He was preceded in death by his brother, Marcus Schaefer, sister, Bethel Foil, and wife Ruth M. (Clinger) Schaefer.

John’s memorial service was held at Oak Harbor Lutheran Church on Dec. 18, following burial at Sunnyside Cemetery in Coupeville. Memorials may be made through Oak Harbor Lutheran Church, 1253 NW Second Ave., Oak Harbor. Arrangements entrusted to Burley Funeral Chapel, Oak Harbor.