Thomas Schafer

1934 - 2024

Thomas "Tom" Schafer of Kingwood, Texas left his earthly home to be with our Heavenly Father on January 13, 2024, at the age of 89. Tom was born in Independence, Mo., March 29, 1934. He was preceded in death by his parents, Alois Schafer of Wurzburg, Germany and Selma Trautwein of Champion City, Mo.; and his loving and wonderful first wife, Sandra "Sandy" Partridge of Kansas City, Mo. Tom and Sandra were married on June 8, 1957, and were together for almost 58 years until Sandra's passing on March 27, 2015. Tom was the youngest of four children. He had three siblings, Andrew, Kenneth, and Ruth (Schafer) James, all deceased.

Tom's family consists of son, Scott Schafer; wife, Mary Jo; grandsons, Brett and William (Edmonds, Wash.); son, Brian Schafer and wife, Maureen (Carmel, N.Y.); grandson, Andy and wife, Claire; great-granddaughter, Ava (Arlington, Va.); granddaughter, Rebecca Burgess and husband, Justin; great-grandkids, Justin, Jaxon, and Madison (Arvada, Colo.); daughter, Julie Lanley; grandson, Ryan; and granddaughter, Megan (Phoenix, Ariz.). Tom loved his children very much and had many wonderful vacation trips to a variety of locations.

Tom graduated from William Chrisman High in Independence, Mo., in 1952. In 1957, he graduated from Kansas University with a Mechanical Engineering degree. He was also enrolled in the Army ROTC program. He served in the U.S. Army in the Ordnance Corps for two years and retired as a 1st. Lt. in September 1959.

After graduating from KU, Tom was employed by Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Co., in Kansas City until 1968 when he (and family) moved to Omaha, Neb., with Northern Natural Gas Co. In 1986, Northern Natural became HNG/Internorth and then Enron and the Company moved to Houston, Texas. Tom moved with Enron where he took a job in the Purchasing Dept and settled in Kingwood, Texas, retiring in 1996.

In 2015, Tom met the second "love of his life" Linda Carstensen. They met at First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood and married January 28, 2017. Tom enjoyed having a wonderful "step" family with three stepdaughters, one stepson-in-law and three step-grandchildren.

Tom enjoyed all aspects of his life. He enjoyed watching his children and grandchildren participate in sports - football, basketball, track, swimming, tennis, and soccer. His hobbies were bridge, golf, fishing, gardening, and don't forget napping! He was active in the First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood, serving as a Deacon, usher, and on the Church Life Committee

A celebration of life will be held on March 16, at 11 a.m., at First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the American Cancer Society.

His parting words - "See you later in Heaven."