A Lifetime, a Legacy - Dr. David Schaffer: A Man of Many Talents
David Schaffer’s Middle Township High School graduation picture, 1950.
“Never will you meet a man who more faithfully lived his life to the fullest,” said Rebecca Kelly at the military burial of her dad, Dr. David Schaffer, 89.
The longtime resident of Stone Harbor and Newtown, Pa., died March 10.
Only death could put an end to the vigor that Dr. Schaffer applied to every facet of his life, including: his dedication to his family; an intense work ethic; steadfast patient care at military and private hospitals – notably at Nazareth Hospital in Northeast Philadelphia, where he worked for 35 years before retiring in 1998 – assorted sports pastimes; diverse hobbies; and adventurous travels with Nancy, his wife of 40 years.
“I wish David was here to talk to you for this story,” she says wistfully, while sitting at the family kitchen table. “He loved to tell stories. He had a lifetime of stories!”
Nancy Schaffer knows her spouse’s narratives well and lovingly relates them.
The anesthesiologist who was a familiar face in Stone Harbor became a full-time resident at age 15 in 1947. Dr. Schaffer’s family relocated from Coplay, Pa., where it had been in the coal business. Within a year, his father Bill and his uncle Franklin Miller opened and operated the Harbor Bowl at 96th Street and First Avenue. The bowling alley was a hot spot for the younger set. Local youngsters also worked there as pinsetters in the days before automation.
Dr. Schaffer held all sorts of summer jobs during his younger years on Seven Mile Beach, as well. The doctor-to-be delivered telegrams that garnered nickel tips; worked as a mailman; labored at the Stone Harbor Pharmacy and the American (grocery) Store; sold bottled Coca-Cola, beach chairs umbrellas and canvas rafts on the beach; and served as a chauffeur for Catherine R. Gilligan, the president of the Superior Life Insurance Company of Philadelphia.
Richard Schaffer, who savors memories of growing up in Stone Harbor, describes his older brother’s typical summer workday: “Dave delivered mail in the morning. Then he went to the beach and worked at Joe Young’s concession stand. After that, Dave drove Miss Gilligan to the Ye Olde Teahouse,” now Donna’s Place, for dinner daily.
Occasionally, Richard took over the driving if his brother was unable to do so. So, he knew the chauffeuring routine and, perhaps even more so than Dr. Schaffer, loved driving the petite, elderly lady’s car.
“Miss Gilligan’s car was a 1953 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 with a rocket hood ornament,” says Dr. Schaffer’s brother, whose favorite summer job was pumping gas and wiping windshields at Elmer’s Garage. “I would have driven that car for free. It was a brilliant green with a little sparkle and a white top.”
The brothers kept that Oldsmobile sparkling with regular washings and wipe-downs, he says.
Both Richard and Nancy Schaffer recall a bit of family lore, circa World War II, that made an indelible impression on all. David and Richard’s parents, Bill and Ida, and their uncle and aunt, Franklin and Ruth Miller, were strolling on the beach one day when they spotted people running and heard shots fired. Members of the U.S. Coast Guard were chasing a man down the beach, a man who might have been a German spy. Coast Guardsmen stopped the Schaffers and the Millers and held them until they were cleared of any involvement in the incident. The next day, young Dr. Schaffer and his uncle returned to the scene of the occurrence and discovered a bullet lodged into boardwalk piling.
Perhaps future pastimes were planted that day. Later in life, Dr. Schaffer nurtured his lifelong love of learning by regularly viewing the History Channel and by completing as many as 100 of The Great Courses, which are college-level audio and video courses and documentaries.
“Dave had a great mind,” says Richard, his only sibling.
As for his formal education, Dr. Schaffer, who played football at Middle Township High School as a guard and graduated in 1950. He next graduated from Muhlenberg College and then Temple University School of Medicine. By 1959, the then-certified physician was a member of the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, serving on the U.S. Marine base in Okinawa, Japan and later in Washington. Dr. Schaffer returned to Temple University School of Medicine for a residency in anesthesiology. In 1965, he joined Nazareth Hospital’s medical staff. He was named chairman of Nazareth’s Department of Anesthesiology in 1972.
“David always wanted to be a doctor,” Richard Schaffer recollects before wondering if his brother’s fully packed, boyhood chemistry set had something to do with that desire. “He was always making stuff in test tubes and did blow a few things up!”
Dr. Schaffer also understood being a patient. Twelve years into their marriage, he had quadruple bypass surgery, Nancy Schaffer says. “David lived for another 29 years and one week after that surgery.” He often commented how his bypass surgery served him well, she adds.
Nancy and David Schaffer were both divorced when they met through mutual friends. They lived a mile or so from each other in Holland, Pa., in the early 1980s, but never previously met. “Between us, we have seven children” who are close in age, says Nancy Schaffer.
As for those seven children, “I’ll never forget the day Dad said Nancy was bringing her kids over to meet us,” daughter Rebecca Kelly noted in her eulogy. “He said, ‘Now, you don’t have to like them right away, but be nice.’” To everyone’s credit, “Not only did we get along, but we genuinely liked each other … which quickly grew to love,” Kelly added.
Their children’s love flourished; they produced 11 beloved grandchildren.
When not occupied by family matters, Dr. Schaffer kept busy constantly and eclectically.
During retirement, up until his early 80s, the doctor routinely played tennis at 8am before heading over to the Wildwood Golf Club for a 10:30 round of golf. Furthermore, “Dave always had a motorcycle” that he rode alongside a motorcycle buddy on the back roads of Cape May County or with the bikers at the Wildwood Roar to the Shore, Nancy says. Even as “Dave was a faithful member of Muscle World [Gym] in Court House,” he also served as a Stone Harbor Museum docent for several years.
Not only that, Dr. Schaffer won many a free beer back in the day at Hahn’s Restaurant and Bar thanks to his considerable skill at shuffleboard. Over time, he also demonstrated remarkable skill at woodworking, creating many items including furniture and a rocking horse for a grandchild. Gardening proved to be another of the anesthesiologist’s talents.
Dr. Schaffer spent 70 years as a member of the Stone Harbor Yacht Club, too.
In retirement, Dr. and Mrs. Schaffer traveled to Chile and the Galapagos Islands in South America; Europe, Australia, New Zealand; and Kenya and Tanzania in Africa.
“When Dave stood on the Serengeti, his bucket list was complete,” Nancy Schaffer says.
Toward the end, Dr. Schaffer was in hospice care at home.
“One of our children was always with us, day and night,” Nancy Schaffer says of those final hours. When Dr. Schaffer joined the ranks of other military veterans buried at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, daughter Rebecca Kelly spoke fitting words worth noting.
“Dad knew it was the smallest moments in life that often held the biggest meaning,” she said. “So the best way we can honor him is to never take life for granted.”
