Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Schafer, Raymond M. August 23, 2019
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Pat Currigan currigan1932@comcast.net September 12, 2020, 9:32 am

Ionia Sentinel Standard-Sat. Aug. 31, 2019

RAYMOND M. SCHAFER, 69
Raymond M. Schafer, of Houghton lake, passed away unexpectedly on Friday, 
August 23, 2019, at the age of 69.

Raymond was born to Edward and Rita Schafer of Muir, Mich., and was one of 
eleven children. He was raised on the family farm and taught the value of 
hard work from a very young age. He worked for other farmers after his 
father's death and was hired by Gibson Refrigerator in Belding at the age of 
18. He bought a farm in Muir when he was 21 and began working for Lindell 
Drop forge on the hammers. At the age of 37, he purchased a farm in Ionia and 
raised dairy cows. Selling the farms and dairy cattle were difficult, but he 
retired in 2003 and bought a home in Houghton lake, MI and in lakeland, Fla.

He was preceded in death by his beloved son, "Little" Ray, his parents, his 
sister, Susanne, and is brothers, Ken and Don.

Ray leaves behind his three daughters, Carrie (Roger) Thomas, Michele (Steve) 
Hoffman, and Emily (Brandon) Mulnix; the mother of his children, DeAnna 
Schafer; his sisters, JoAnn,, Edna, Loretta, and Adeline; and brothers, Fred, 
Louis, Edwin; grandchildren, Melanie (Josh) Zalis, Karl, Alexander, and 
Gabriel Thomas, Ellie and Levi Hoffman, and Lily and Silas Mulnix; and his 
girl-friend, Deb Grencz.

Raymond enjoyed tinkering on small engines on the dining room table, chatting 
with friends around the bed of the pickup, shooting the breeze with farmer at 
livestock auctions in lake Odessa, playing euchre, going to flea markets and 
finding bargains, and running the roads.

Funeral services will be  2 p.m. Tuesday, September 3, 2019, at Lake Funeral 
Home in ionia with Rev Kenneth Harger officiating. Visitation will be Tuesday 
at noon until time of service at the funeral home. Burial will take place at 
North Plains Cemetery.

Al farmers are invited to display your tractors along the processional route. 
Out dad would like that!

In lieu of flowers, we ask you to consider donating toward the "Ray Schafer 
Memorial" established in the memory of Ray and his son. The purpose of the 
memorial funds would be specifically for farm safety training events for 
children farmers and their families and first responders.

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