Obituary of James Schafer

James Harlan Schafer WEST COLUMBIA: Services for James Harlan Schafer, 62, will be held at 3 p.m. Friday, September 2, 2011, at the First Baptist Church West Columbia, officiated by Rev. Dr. Bill Drees and Rev. Dr. Lonnie Shull. Interment will follow at Mt. Tabor Lutheran Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 until 8 p.m. Thursday evening at Thompson Funeral Home of Lexington. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church West Columbia, Bus Fund, P.O. Box 4898, West Columbia, SC 29171 or to the Pee Dee Land Trust, P.O. Box 4, Darlington, SC 29540. Mr. Schafer went to be with his Lord Wednesday, August 31, 2011. Born in Bushnell, IL, he was a son of the late Dr. and Mrs. Edward Joseph Schafer. He graduated cum laude from American University in Washington, DC; and received his Masters of Public Administration from a consortium at the Universities of Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. Mr. Schafer worked in Rock Hill at the Catawba Regional Planning Council (1972-1980), General Services Director for Florence County (1980-1988), Darlington County Administrator (1988-1998), and Information Technology Manager for the County of Lexington (1998-current). He was a deacon, Sunday School teacher, RA leader, and Sanctuary Choir member at First Baptist Church West Columbia. He was also a Gideon and an avid gardener and cook. Surviving are his wife, Amelia Taylor Schafer; son, Edward Joseph Schafer and wife, Anna; daughter, Emily Schafer Whitehead and husband, Weave; grandchildren, Amelia Whitehead, Weaver Whitehead, Hugh Whitehead and James Harlan Schafer, II; and sister, Sue Schafer of Evanston, IL. The family would like to thank the staff at Lexington Medical Center, Dr. Tripp Jones and Dr. Anne Hutchison and South Carolina Oncology Associates; and the doctors and staff at the Bone Marrow Transplant Center at Hollings Cancer Center in Charleston. Family and friends may sign online guest book at www.thompsonsfuneral.com