Elfriede Adelheid Schaeffer

Elfriede A. Schaeffer went to be with her Lord and Savior on Sunday, January 9, 2022 after a brief illness. She passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her children, whether in person or virtually. Elfriede is survived by her 9 children: Amy (David Hennig), Donald (Hazel), Joy (Jack Herman), Kristin (Bill Guthrie), Andrew (Esther), Jonathan (Mary), Julianne (David Calvis), Faith (Dean Lancaster) and Jessica. She is also survived by her siblings Herman (Mary) Waetjen, Elizabeth (Jim) Johnson, and Laima DeVries. Elfriede had 40 grandchildren and 38 great grandchildren.
She was born April 8, 1935 in Secaucus, NJ to the late Henry and Anna Ruschmeyer Waetjen, four years after they moved from Germany to the United States. In 1955, at the age of 20, Elfriede graduated with a Bachelor's pre-medicine degree from New York University. A week later she married Donald and served alongside him as he pastored churches in rural Wisconsin and Charleston, South Carolina. In 1962, Donald was called to pastor Grace Church, a small, young church meeting at C. A. Thomas School in Middleburg Heights. Elfriede faithfully supported Donald during 52 years of ministry at Grace Church, helping the church to grow and touching many through hospitality, her listening ear, and loving example. For many years she also taught women's Bible studies. Elfriede's passion in life was to point people to Jesus. Despite physical frailty in her later years due to Parkinson's disease, she continued to impact people through her faithful prayers, visits, phone calls and emails. Elfriede delighted in her large, loving family, her many dear friends, and her Grace Church family. But, most of all, she delighted in her Savior and best friend, Jesus. Elfriede was preceded in death by her husband, Pastor Donald Schaeffer, in 2014, by her granddaughter, Lisa Herman, and by her sister, Margaret Rexroth.
Visitation and viewing will take place on Friday, January 14, from 6-9 pm, and a memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 15 at 11 am, both at Grace Church, 7393 Pearl Rd., Middleburg Hts. A private Interment will be held at Woodvale Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Grace Church or to Alliance Missions.
Memorial service can be livestreamed at https://live.gracecma.org/