E Maine Shafer

Edwin Maine Shafer, died peacefully August 24, 2008 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, surrounded by his family, after a short illness at the age of 93. He is preceded in death by his mother, Gladys Maine Shafer, father, Chester Shafer, and his sister, Barbara Shafer Crowell. He was born April 15, 1915 in Hibbing, Minnesota and was raised in Duluth, MN and Minot, ND before attending the North Dakota Agricultural College (NDSU) in Fargo where he joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity. During World War II he served with distinction as an officer in the Navy in the Pacific and participated in some of the great battles. He started his business career as a bank examiner in Washington DC where he had moved with his wife right before the war and where their first daughter was born. After the war he returned to Fargo, North Dakota where he settled and raised 4 children. His career moves brought him to Overvold Motors, the Cadillac dealership in Fargo, he briefly owned Shafer Motors, a Pontiac dealership, and worked many years in the insurance business, first at Surety Mutual, then with American Life and Casualty where he was vice president. Maine Shafer was very active in statewide and city politics, among other things campaign manager for Congressman and later Senator Mark Andrews and advisor to Governor John Davis as well as being a key figure in many organizations. He was a member of the Fargo planning commission for many years, was president of Rotary and the North Dakota Golf Association. In 1970 he was appointed head of the Small Business Administration, first for the state of North Dakota, then for the state of New Mexico making his home in Albuquerque. He retired in 1985 but kept active for many years as a member of the board of the Bank of Belen and a member of the NM Commission on Aging as well as a consultant to small businesses. He was an avid skier and golfer as well as a rather wry commenter on the human condition with a very particular turn-of-phrase. He was well respected and in many ways bigger-than-life, and he will be dearly missed by his loving wife, Geraldine Gibbens Shafer of Santa Fe, NM, brother Richard Shafer of Seattle, WA, children: Gerri Shafer-Smith of Albuquerque, NM, E. Maine Shafer Jr. of San Francisco, CA, Treacy Shafer-Schmidt of Denmark, and Janie Shafer of Santa Fe, NM, grandchildren: David Allen Smith of Columbia Falls, MT, and Scott Maine Smith of Piedmont, CA, and his six great-grandchildren. A Graveside Service will be held Friday, August 29, 2008 at 2:30pm at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. The Rivera Family of Santa Fe Funeral Options 417 East Rodeo Road Santa Fe, NM 87505 (505) 989-7032 Santafefuneraloption.com