Lee Schafer

BRIGHTON ? Lee F. Schafer, 80, of Brighton, died Friday, April 29, 2016, in the Washington County Hospital in Washington.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, May 5, at the Brighton United Church in Brighton with the Rev. Rick Zickefoose officiating. Burial will be in Hillcrest Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be from 5 to 8 p.m., Wednesday at the Lake Darling State Park Lodge, where a light meal will be served, and you are asked to dress casually. Memorials for the Brighton United Church or the Friends of Lake Darling may be left at the lodge or the church, or mailed to the family at 1626 335th Street, Brighton, IA 52540. Gould Funeral Home of Brighton is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Schafer was born Aug. 11, 1935, in Missouri Valley, and adopted by Ira J. and Lillian (McFarland) Schafer. He married Karen Erwin of Richland on June 13, 1960, in Leon.

He lived in or near Brighton his entire life and graduated from Brighton High School in 1953. He was involved in farming and agricultural-related business all his adult life, and served on the board of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Corn Promotion Board, and was an officer on the National Corn Growers Association Board, security supervisor for the Farm Progress Show, co-owner of Hawkeye Soil Service Inc., and board member of Rubio Savings Bank of Brighton. He was also involved in many civic activities, including Friends of Lake Darling, Washington County Extension Council, mayor of the City of Brighton, Brighton City Council, Washington Community School Board, Washington County Magistrate Appointment Committee, charter member of the Brighton Lions Club, Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). He was a longtime member of the Brighton United Church, where he had served as co-chairman of the building committee for the construction of the church.

Surviving are his wife, Karen, of Brighton; two daughters, Deb Jesina and husband Tim of North Liberty, and Amy Schafer of Des Moines; two grandchildren; one sister-in-law, Nancy Erwin; and five nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and one brother-in-law, Kenneth Erwin.