Terry Douglas Schaeffer

Terry Douglas Schaeffer

Ventura, CA

Terry Douglas Schaeffer, 70, of Ventura, passed away on Friday, June 3, 2016 following a brief illness. He was born November 28, 1945, in Marengo, Illinois to Melvin and Anna Schaeffer.

Terry served in the United States Navy from 1963 until 1967 with a tour of duty in Vietnam receiving the Combat Action Medal and Navy Unit Citation as achieving the rank of Naval Petty Officer. He then received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Meteorology from Northern Illinois University.

Terry was a professional meteorologist for 45 years, 25 of those years were with the National Weather Service. He was one of the most experienced meteorologists in the fields of microclimates and fire weather. He was one of very few agricultural forecasters in the state of California. Terry started his own consulting firm "Weather by Schaeffer" and was still actively fulfilling his duties of weather reporting. Among numerous professional awards, Terry was recently given the California Avocado Society Oliver Atkins Award for 37 years of service to the industry.

Terry not only gave invaluable help to the growers of Ventura County but consistently sought to serve his community in many roles. He was a 35 year member of Rotary International having served as President of the Ventura Rotary Club. He served Rotary on many local and district levels including the District's Hurricane Relief Committee and as Executive Assistant Governor for Rotary District 5240, as well as many other community service involvements such as the Rotary 4th of July Fireworks event, volunteer tutoring at local elementary schools, delivering food to the needy during the Holidays and ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. Terry was recipient of the prestigious "Rotarian of the Year Award" on both the local and district levels.

As a volunteer for nineteen years Terry enjoyed coaching both high school and collegiate Cross Country and Track. He was an avid cyclist and enjoyed gardening and travel. Terry was the consummate chef and will be fondly remembered for the wonderful gatherings at the Schaeffer home with special recipes that he enjoyed serving and sharing with friends.

Terry is survived by his wife of 47 years, Mary Schaeffer of Ventura; sons, Ethan Schaeffer of Toluca Lake and Aaron Schaeffer of Ventura; sister and brother-in-law, Joan and Roy Motley of Rankin, Ill; sister, Jenny Sullivan of Spring Hill, Florida; brothers-in-law, Jim Thompson and Merwyn Thompson and his wife Beverly, all of Marengo, Ill., as well as eight nephews and four nieces.

He was preceded in death by his brother and sister-in-law, Rod and Marlene Schaeffer and a nephew, Tim Motley.

Visitation will take place Tuesday, June 14, 2016, 4:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. at the Ted Mayr Funeral Home, 3150 Loma Vista Road, Ventura. The celebration of Terry's life will take place Wednesday, June 15, 11:00 A.M. also at Ted Mayr Funeral Home. A reception will follow at the family's residence.

Memorial donations may be made in Terry's name to the Julius Guis Memorial Foundation c/o Ventura Rotary, the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Ted Mayr Funeral Home, Ventura. Condolences may be left at TedMayrFuneralHome.com