John Newhall Schaefer

John Newhall Schaefer

June 17, 1944 - October 6, 2024

Born in Boston and raised in a West Newton suburb, John was the youngest of three children of Mary Newhall of Arizona and Robert Schaefer of Switzerland. He attended Noble and Greenough School in Massachusetts and went on to earn an engineering degree at Harvard in 1966.

After college, John had a fascinating career in aerospace engineering, mostly working on government programs, ranging from submarines to satellites. Starting as a junior engineer, he moved into systems engineering, and then transitioned into engineering management positions, retiring as a vice president of a small engineering company.

In his free time, John enjoyed woodworking, sailing, and building detailed model ships with extreme patience and precision. He thrived while playing chess and his guitars.

John's beloved wife and daughter enjoyed many family experiences with him over the years, including travel together, time at the ocean, building a cabin in the mountains, and celebrating life's various milestones. His family and friends admired his integrity and kindness and treasured his acute sense of humor and abundant repertoire of jokes, which brought smiles and laughter to all conversations and occasions.

John was an exceptional individual who was greatly loved and will be deeply missed. He is predeceased by his parents, his brother (Robert Schaefer), and his sister (Lucile Henricks). He is survived by his wife of 54 years (Susan Schaefer), daughter (Kristin O'Brien), son-in-law (Patrick "Mike" O'Brien), and grandsons (Jack O'Brien & Wyatt O'Brien), as well as by nieces, nephews, extended family, and dear friends.