Obituary of Frank Schaffer

Frank LeRoy Schaffer, 79 entered into rest May 13, 2010 with his loving family at his side. He was born in Wakeeny, Kansas on April 11, 1931 to Carl and Roxie Schaffer. He had six brothers and three sisters. In 1948 Frank enlisted in the United States Army and served in the Korea and Vietnam wars before retiring in 1971. While stationed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, he married Ovie Kathleen Martin on November 7, 1967. He became a step-father better known as "Pops, "Papa" or "Schaffer" to two girls, Kathy and Jo Ann and two boys, Dennis and Ron. Soon after their marriage Frank was called to serve a tour in Viet Nam during 1968 thru 1969. After he returned from Viet Nam, the family moved to Colorado where they lived for another year and then moved to Evanston, Wyoming. In 1971 he decided to retire from the military and moved the family to Moses Lake, Washington, where Frank found work wherever he could, at times holding down three jobs to support his family. They lived there almost a year before moving to Othello in June 1973 to the location they currently reside. As you can see, they lead the typical "military" life of moving around. Frank then took odd jobs to make ends meet before he became employed with a general contactor building houses. Later, he was employed with the Quincy-Columbia Basin Irrigation District and retired there in 1996. Since that time Frank hasn't set still one bit - working odd jobs to keep himself busy. In 2002, Frank worked himself into having a heart surgery. He went in to check his carotid artery and ended up also having open heart surgery two days later. Before that he hadn't been seriously ill except for getting malaria during his military service. He and Kathy would make an annual trip to Texas to see Kathy's brother and then on to Arkansas where Frank's brothers and sisters lived. Branson, Missouri was a hot spot they had to see when they were visiting. They really enjoyed those trips. During his lifetime Frank loved to fish, collect coins and fix up whatever needed fixing. He was a "jack of all trades" and loved keeping busy. Sometimes you would hear some war stories repeated a few times, but because of the seriousness of the wars, he never went into detail of how the wars affected him. He was a strong veteran soldier who respected and honored his country and did as ordered. He is preceded in death by one step-daughter, Jo Ann McMannis. Frank is survived by his wife, Kathleen, of 42 years; and his step-sons Dennis (Sheri) Smith of Royal City, WA and Ron Smith of Moses Lake, WA; his step-daughter Kathy Collins of Moses Lake, WA; 8 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. Some other pets names he had for his grandchildren and/or great grandchildren were "curly top", "pretty girl", "blue eyes", "sweetie" and "hillbilly." He will be truly missed by all who knew him. Visitation will be Wednesday May 19, 2010 from 12PM to 2PM at Church of Christ 710 E Larch in Othello, WA with Funeral Services to follow at 2PM. Burial with Military Honors will be at Bess Hampton Memorial Gardens following the service. The Schaffer family has asked Danekas Funeral Home, Othello to care for the arrangements. Please visit and leave a condolence note for the family at www.DanekasFuneralHome.org