Shirley Lorraine

Schafer

Shirley Lorraine Shepark Schafer celebrated her 99th birthday with family on August 31, 2026. She passed away peacefully in her Palo Alto home of 70 years while under hospice care, following a two-year battle with inoperable skin cancer.

Shirley was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to Frank and Emma Shepark and was their only child. In 1939, when Shirley was 12, the family moved to Los Angeles. At age 18, she tragically lost her mother in a household cleaning-fluid fire.

On February 8, 1948, Shirley married Lloyd Joseph Schafer. They were blessed with three sons: Mark Steven, born in 1949; Paul Thomas, born in 1951; and Roger Lloyd, born in 1955. In 1956, shortly after the death of Shirley's father, Frank, the family moved to Palo Alto. During the 1960s and 1970s, Shirley worked as a librarian at Foothill College.

Shirley endured the loss of her son Mark to von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease in 1990. During the late 1980s and 1990s, she lovingly cared for Lloyd as he lived with ALS. He died in 1999 at age 75.

Shirley enjoyed bowling, playing bridge and Scrabble, reading, and bird-watching. She also traveled extensively with her children and grandchildren for as long as she was able.

For the final five years of Shirley's life, her caregiver and close friend, Talei, remained faithfully by her side and was with her in her final moments.

Shirley is survived by her two sons, six grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.