Conrad Lee Scheffler

Conrad Lee SCHEFFLER

July 2, 1949 ~ October 14, 2015

Conrad was born to Raymond and Dorothy Scheffler in Stark, Florida in 1949. Growing up as a Navy brat, he lived in numerous places such as Jacksonville FL, Charleston SC, Norfolk VA, Camden NJ and San Diego CA. When his father retired in 1962, his parents decided to cultivate a life in the Seattle area, settling in Bellevue. Conrad attended Sammamish High School where he met his high school sweetheart Gail. After he graduated Sammamish High School, he continued his education at the University of Washington and started working part time at University Swaging, a sail boat rigging company. Upon earning a BA in Economics, Conrad began working full time at University Swaging, where he endeavored to grow the company's business, developing swaged cables that went on programs such as the Minute Man Missiles, Lunar Rover, and Voyager I. Not long after, he led the company into the aviation/aerospace industry by producing swaged tubing, beginning with the Boeing Company. He married Gail in Coeur d'Alene in 1972 and they enjoyed their early married life spending time hunting and fishing in Eastern Washington. On June 28, 1990, he was being blessed with his daughter Erika and he had always referred to that day as the best date of his life.
Conrad was charismatic, passionate about all that he took an interest in, bright, compassionate, always willing to help someone out of a bind, and touched many lives. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, electronics, tinkering in the garage, landscaping, and working on his cars. Conrad also enjoyed making friends wherever he went; whether through work, at a restaurant, planting palm trees in the yard, at the hardware store or the car wash, he always seemed to know everyone and be able to make a connection with anyone he met. He was very mechanically inclined and could fix anything; if he didn't know how to do it, he would find a way to do it. He maintained that "can do" outlook throughout his entire life, even throughout hardships. If you told him that "it couldn't be done", he would prove you wrong every time, which was shown through the success of his company. Because of Conrad's business insight, tenacity and sheer love for his job he transformed University Swaging from a small one room commercial cable company to the successful, world-class Aerospace manufacturing company that is today recognized worldwide and loved by its customers. Conrad was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in March 2015, where he stepped down from his position as General Manager at University Swaging to focus on his health, family, and a positive attitude in regards to overcoming the leukemia. Unexpectedly after several successful chemo treatments, Conrad's lack of immune system was unable to fight off an aggressive fungal infection, although his spirit and mind were not ready to give up. His love of life and people were evident even in the remaining days of his life.
He is survived by his wife of 43 years Gail, his daughter Erika and his niece April.
Family and friends are invited to attend a Memorial Service in his honor on Saturday, October 24, 2015 at 1:00pm, Sunset Hills Funeral Home, 1215 - 145th Place SE, Bellevue, WA 98007, www.sunsethillsfuneralhome.com. With his love for wildlife and core values that aligned with those of this organization, in lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make donations to the WSU Raptor Club. WSU Raptor Club, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, PO Box 646610 Pullman, WA 99164-6610.