Penn York Club Mourns Passing of Steve Schaeffer
Dear Penn-York Lumbermen’s Club members and friends,
We are sad to report the passing of former Penn York Lumbermen’s Club member Steve Schaeffer. Below is the obituary.
Steven Floyd “Steve” Schaeffer died in his home on Friday, December 16, 2022 of bulbar amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): He was 71.
He is survived by Marcy, his wife of 42 years, his children Kelsey Gardner of Ithaca and Julie Schaeffer-Santarelli (Bruno) of Concord, Mass, his granddaughter Renata Schaeffer Santarelli, and sister Christine Ossont of Utica, NY.
Steve was born on April 7, 1951 and raised in Sidney, New York by his parents Walter Martin Schaeffer and Coralyn Doolittle Schaeffer. The family belonged to the First Congregational Church of Sidney.
Boy Scouts and Boy Scout Camp provided some of the most memorable moments of his young life. He was inducted to the Order of the Arrow at Crumhorn Mountain Boy Scout Camp, rising further to become an Eagle Scout.
In 1969, Steve was accepted by Cornell, creating educational and professional opportunities and the chance for new friendships that would affect every aspect of the rest of his life. After graduating with a degree from Cornell’s ILR School, he went to work at the First National Bank of Sidney, but then went back to school for an MBA in finance.
At Sigma Nu he met his future business partner, Les Wagner, who was operating a part-time one-man sawmill. He invited Steve to go look at a few sawmills in New England and decided to go into business together.
Forty years after they started, their two-man operation had grown to over 300 employees and four sawmills – the biggest hardwood company in the Northeast – when they sold it in 2012 and were asked to stay on as consultants.
The family requests donations be made to the Tioga County Boys and Girls Club in Owego, NY. Educate the Children at www.etc-nepal.org. Hospicare at www.hospicare.org. Donations in Steve’s name may also be made to the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General Hospital at giving.massgeneral.org/donate or checks can be mailed to: Massachusetts General Hospital, Development Office, 125 Nashua Street, Suite 540, Boston, MA 02114. Online condolences can be left at www.bangsfuneralhome.com.