Daniel E. Shaffer

SHAFFER, Daniel Efrem, of Richmond, Virginia died on August 31st, 2023. Dan was a loving husband and father, a generous, creative man who loved to put a smile on the face of anyone he was with.

Born in Newton, New Jersey in 1963, Dan grew up in southern New Jersey, graduated from Haddonfield Memorial High School, and learned to love family vacations at the shore. As a young man in 1989, he moved to Richmond, which has been his home ever since. In 1997, he met and fell in love with his future wife, Dinah Jo Kirk, of Leesburg, VA, at an empty laundromat on Strawberry Street one Sunday afternoon.

Dan was a dedicated and highly qualified professional truck driver, with numerous advanced certifications. When not driving, he exercised his endless curiosity, often with one or more kids at his side: creating art in many medias; teaching himself to play the violin; restoring life to cars, bikes, and motorcycles; designing and building useful and fun outdoor features; or building exquisitely detailed models, with multiple pairs of glasses perched on his nose, to get the finish just right. Dan's warmth and welcoming spirit extended to his four-legged friends as well. His epic rescue and adoption of their dog Linus, from alongside an Alabama highway, and their cross country "get acquainted" ride, is legendary.

Dan loved being a husband and father to his family. He is survived by his beloved wife Dinah, and their five children: William, Catharine, Elizabeth, Joseph, and Elaine. Dan also leaves behind his mother, Carol Shaffer of Haddonfield, NJ, his sister Beth, and three brothers: Steve, Collin, and Ben. He is predeceased by his father, the Rev. Robert W. Shaffer.

The family will gather privately at this time with plans to host a memorial service in weeks to come, to further celebrate Dan's rich life that touched so many.