Dieter Schaffner

April 16, 2018 

Mu 1969 – 1970

Dear Paul and the Brothers of Sigma Beta Tau,

It is with tremendous sadness that I write this for you to share with the Sigma Beta Tau brothers that my best friend and husband, Dieter,  has passed Monday,  April 16, 2018 on to a peaceful place after a vigorous fight with cancer.

Sigma Beta Tau was an enormous part of Dieter’s college days that we both shared from Induction Dinners at the Manor in West Orange, to dances at the Evergreen Lodge, to singing “My Lord What a Morning”, and “There is Nothing Like a Dame” and many others during Greek Sing, the shore house in Belmar, attending sporting events, all night movies in the gym, the tug of war between the old bulls and the new pledges, the trip to Innsbruck, Austria that had us leave JFK by midnight to board a bus to Bradley Airport in Connecticut but eventually got us to Austria, and the myriad of wonderful friendships that he made over those years and still has to this day. On Monday the torrents of rain were like tears shed from Mother Earth for one of her best. You will be so missed by so many, but never forgotten.

Thank you.
Lois Schaffner

Below is the Obituary which also appears on the Orender Family Home funeral site.

Dieter Schaffner, 67, born in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, passed away April 16, 2018 in his Brick Township home after a vigorous battle with cancer. After coming to New Jersey in 1954 as a little boy, Dieter became a lifelong resident of New Jersey where he was amongst the first graduating class of Colonia High School in Woodbridge Township. Dieter received his Bachelor’s degree from Newark State College, now known as Kean University, where he was a brother of the Sigma Beta Tau Fraternity. Following his college graduation, Dieter sought employment as a carpenter in 1972 which was a stepping stone to larger endeavors. By 1977, Dieter partnered with Ken Schafer and started their own framing contractor business together, K-D Builders & Carpenters,Inc., building magnificent custom homes all over the state. Dieter’s personal accomplishment was building the home his family has resided in since 1978 and helping to raise his three children with his wife, Lois. Dieter was a parishioner of The Church of St. Martha in Point Pleasant. Dieter was the epitome of “a good neighbor” lending a helping hand whenever it was needed. Finding enjoyment in lateral thinking problems, crossword puzzles, and jigsaw puzzles was only surpassed by being on his tractor daily, keeping his yard in pristine condition. For over two decades, Dieter could be found at a match or tournament supporting Brick Memorial Wrestling, the team for which both his boys wrestled. No dad was more proud of his growing children than Dieter who went to all sporting events, recitals, and competitions.

Dieter is predeceased by his brother Michael and his father Wilhelm. Dieter leaves behind to celebrate his life his wife, Lois, of 45 years and his daughter, Annette and her husband, Rob; his sons, Benjamin and Christopher; his granddaughter Shelby; his mother, Hildegard; his brother, Frank and his wife Liz; his sister, Joanna Doble and her husband Larry; his nephew Kyle, his nieces, Hannelore, Karli, and Heidi Schaffner; his sister-in-law Melanie Mocerino; and his cousins Anneliese Boghossian, Steffan Fischer, Sybille Bauerle, and Irmgard Steiger Kruse.

Family and friends are invited to attend a visitation on Thursday, April 19, from 4:00-8:00 pm at Orender Family Home for Funerals, 2643 Old Bridge Road, Manasquan, NJ 08736. Those attending the funeral on Friday, April 20, 2018 are asked to assemble at the funeral home at 9:15 am with a mass following at St.Peter’s Church in Point Pleasant Beach at 10:00 AM. Interment is private.

Though his earthly eyes are closed, we can see the world through them because we knew him and what he was about. Because he was in our lives we are better, braver, wiser, kinder, and had more humor in our lives than we could have had without him. Earth has one less angel and heaven has one more.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation here to the Dieter Schaffner Wrestling Fund through GoFundMe. These funds will provide annual educational assistance for a Brick Memorial wrestler who not only displays dedication and sportsmanship, but is a role model on and off the mat, as Dieter exemplified each day. We would love to honor his memory this way.