Larry Wayne Schafer

Larry Wayne Schafer was born to Albert William Schafer and Florence Irene (Hunzeker) Schafer in Pawnee City on May 29, 1941, and passed away at the Good Samaritan facility in Beatrice on April 14, 2016 at the age of 74. He was the oldest of two children, with a brother, Terry.

In 1941, the family moved to California, where his father accepted a position at the Lockhead Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, Calif., installing hydraulics. They returned to Nebraska in 1944 when Larry was 3 years old as his father accepted a position at Glenn L. Martin plant in Omaha to work as an inspector of hydraulics. Still yearning to get back to their Nebraska rural roots, the family later moved to the family farm in Pawnee County, where Larry grew up helping his father.

As a child, he attended the Pawnee County District 31 Union grade school and the District 15 Hunzeker school just west of the family farm where he grew up. He graduated from Pawnee High School, where he was an active member of FFA in Pawnee City in 1958. His first job out of high school was with Binders Grain elevator in Table Rock, building grain elevators. Other employment as a young man included working for Albert Latza and Bob Moser in Pawnee City as a blacksmith welding machinery and large equipment. In the late 1970s and early '80s, he was a co-owner of the Quad State Auction Company. He later served as the Pawnee County Road Superintendent for several years in the 1990s.

In July 1962, he was united in marriage to his neighborhood schoolmate, Ardis Ann Lang in Humboldt. During their 15-year marriage, they were blessed with five children: Richard Lynn, Randall Wayne, Robert Michael, Stacy Ann and Tracy Marie. They provided him with 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, who were his pride and joy.

In the mid 1960s, Larry went into the earth moving business with Art Lang, forming Lang and Schafer Construction Company serving southeast Nebraska and northeast Kansas with their expertise and talents with operating bulldozers, scrapers and motor graders. In 1978, Larry started his own business, Larry's Truck and Tractor, in DuBois, Neb., which he operated until his death. His employees, Jerry Jun and Norman Barker, became lifelong friends and part of the Schafer family, working side by side with Larry and his sons in the shop for many years.

Larry had a passion for bulldozers and moving dirt. He enjoyed motorcycle rides, John Wayne movies, and re-runs of Bonanza and Gun Smoke. But his biggest love was for his beagles, Digger and Freddy, who were his loyal companions and best friends.

Larry is preceded in death by his father, William Schafer and his mother, Florence Schafer.

He is survived by his five children and spouses, Rick and Delisa Schafer of McLoud, Okla., Rand Schafer of DuBois and fiancee Ali Haug, Rob and Andrea Schafer of Beatrice, Stacy and Danny Young of El Dorado, Ark., and Tracy Oliver of Beatrice; 12 grandchildren, Justin and Dawson Schafer, Taylor and Nolan Schafer, Brooklyn and Addison Schafer, Garrett Kent and Chessa Young, Hunter, Halle, Treyton, and Tucker Oliver; two great grandchildren, Castin and Jasci Schafer; brother and sister-in-law Terry and Cathy Schafer of DuBois and their four children, his nieces and nephews, and many other friends and relatives.

Services 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 23, 2016 at the First Presbyterian Church, Pawnee City. Co-officiating are Rev. Duane Westing and Rev. Ken Tubbesing. Visitation on Friday, April 22, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. with family greeting friends from 6-8 p.m. at Wherry Mortuary, 919 G St., Pawnee City, Neb. Internment at the DuBois Cemetery, DuBois, Neb. Memorials may be made in Larry's honor to the DuBois Community Park Fund. Friends and family are invited to join the family for a celebration of Larry's life and dinner at the DuBois Community Center following the burial. Online condolence can be left at www.wherrymortuary.com.