Clarence Chester “Sonny” Shaffer

1922 - 2015

Sonny Shaffer passed away on Wednesday, February 25, 2015 in Spokane, WA.  He had just celebrated his 93^rd birthday.  He was born February 17, 1922 in Schellsburg, Pennsylvania, the oldest son of John Ray Shaffer and Cleo Marcella Fisher. 

Nicknamed “Sonny” early in life, he grew up in Schellsburg, and graduated from nearby Bedford High School in 1939.  After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Sonny was drafted into the army.  In October 1942, he started basic training at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma.  While on a weekend pass to Tulsa with some buddies, he met a red-haired, blue-eyed Tennessee girl named Lois Hinson at the bus station.  It was love at first sight. After serving in the 350^th Infantry, Co. L, 88^th Division of the 5^th Army Corp and being wounded in Italy, he returned to the US in 1944.  He married Lois on February 27, 1945 in Hagerstown, MD where he worked for Seiberling Rubber Company.   In 1947, Sonny and Lois moved to Richland, WA to be near her parents.  Sonny started work as an electrician for General Electric at Hanford and, in 1950, they started their family.  In 1956, they moved to Pasco and bought the house where their 4 children grew up.  In August 2012, Lois passed away but Sonny continued to live there until January of 2014, when he moved to Spokane and the family home for 58 years was sold.  He resided in Rockwood at Hawthorne for the last year of his life.

Sonny is survived by his four children:  Daughter Vicki (Monty) Scott and grandkids Aaron (Sloane) Scott and Amber (Andrew) Weiseth; Son Tim (Debbie) Shaffer and grandsons Derek and Chris Shaffer; Son John (Sandy) Shaffer and grandson Tim (Shae) Shaffer; Son Jeff (Lisa) Shaffer and grandkids Emerson, Griffin, and Marcella Shaffer.  Brother:  Glenn (Dot) Shaffer of Schellsburg, PA; Sister-in-law:  Madelyn (Dick) Epler.  Also 6 great-grandkids and numerous nieces and nephews.  Besides his wife Lois, Sonny was preceded in death by his parents, as well as his sister Pauline and brothers,  J. Robert and Ben Shaffer, all of Pennsylvania. 

Sonny was raised with a very strong work ethic and instilled that in his own children.  He also had strong opinions that occasionally ruffled a feather or two.  Sonny was the nicest man you could ever meet.  He never met a stranger.  He liked nothing better than to sit and chat with you, find out where you were from, and ask you a million questions to learn more about you.  Plus, he loved to eat.  Long after taking a trip, he could remember not only what he had eaten, but also where he had eaten it.  And he could fix anything; plumbing, electrical, painting, mechanical.  He had three shops; one in the basement and one in his little and big garage.  They were filled with nuts and bolts and straightened nails and scraps of everything you could think of, all carefully labeled.  He never threw anything away that might be useful to him down the road.  And, every summer his garden overflowed with vegetables.   

The family invites you to come and celebrate his life at the memorial service that will be held on Saturday, March 7 at 1pm at the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Pasco where he and Lois were long-time members.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Union Gospel Mission or a charity of your choice.  You may sign the online guest book and leave a message of condolence at www.einansfuneralhome.com.  Sonny will be interred beside Lois in Sunset Memorial Gardens in Richland.  The world is a sadder place without Sonny Shaffer but he lives on in the hearts of all who knew him.