John E. Schaefer Of Noyac Dies April 13

John E. Schaefer
John E. Schaefer of Noyac died on April 13 at North Shore Hospital in Manhasset. He was 93 and had been on kidney dialysis for 19 months.

Mr. Schaefer was born on September 1, 1919 to Walter L. Schaefer and Elizabeth (née Kurz) Shaefer and was raised in Blue Point. His uncle owned the Blue Point Inn and another member of the family ran Schmidt’s Bake Shop in Patchogue. Mr. Schaefer learned golf as a caddy at the Rockville Links Club in Rockville Centre, and he continued to play the game throughout his life, past his 90th birthday.

A 1936 graduate of Southside High School in Rockville Centre, he joined the U.S. Army after Pearl Harbor was attacked. He fought in the Philippines, and served again during the Korean War, attaining the rank of lieutenant.

Following the war, he married Mary D. Lucas, and they lived in Oceanside while Mr. Schaefer attended the New York Institute of Finance. As his career in banking began to build, the family moved to Brookville. Mr. Schaefer started in banking with the Bank of Rockville Centre Trust Company, then Chemical Bank, before working for J.P. Morgan Chase. He retired in 1977.

In 1960, Mr. Schaefer bought a house in the Northampton community of Noyac.

A year later, at a meeting of the Southampton Elks Club, the Noyac Golf Club was formed, with Mr. Schaefer as a founding member. His help was integral in arranging for a second mortgage on the land in 1965.

A past commodore of the Northampton Colony Yacht Club, he enjoyed sailing and clamming. He was also a past president of the Sea Club in Hillsboro Beach, Florida, where he had a second home. He taught his four children to water ski on Noyac Bay.

In addition to his wife, Mary, he is survived by three sons, John Jr. of East Norwich, Robert Schaefer of Rockville Centre, and James K. Schaefer of Brookville; a daughter, Mary E. Stabenfelt of California; 12 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held on Sunday, June 9, at 8:30 and 11:30 a.m. at St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church in Sag Harbor.

Memorial donations may be made to the Lutheran High School Association of Nassau and Suffolk Counties, 131 Brookville Road, Brookville, NY 11545.