Community says goodbye to long-time County Board member
By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
Long-time Walworth County Board member and local business owner Joe Schaefer died Jan. 11, at the age of 73.
“The community will be missing a gentle giant,” his son J.J. Schaefer said Tuesday.
Joe was a lifetime resident of the Town of Lyons and served on the Walworth County Board for almost 43 years. He was the District 2 supervisor since 1974. Before he was elected to the County Board, the seat had been held by his father for 20 years and his grandfather for 28 years before that.
District two includes all or part of LaFayette, Lyons, Spring Prairie, Troy and portions of the cities of Burlington and Lake Geneva.
“He was very proud of his accomplishments on the County Board,” J.J. said. “He had such a pride in his community. The Town of Lyons is really going to miss him. We all have to keep trucking and move forward, but it’s going to be a rough year as we realize how much he’s done for the town and county.”
Walworth County Administrator David Bretl said Schaefer will be missed greatly.
“We’re definitely saddened with Joe’s loss,” Bretl said. “His story is such a hard story to tell because it’s so big – he went back to 1974 when he started on the board. He was our last link to the past and those old boards.”
Bretl said Schaefer’s service to the county was something he was very proud of.
“It was part of his identity,” he said. “He took the job seriously and he took his place in the family history on the board very seriously. It was something he was very proud of that he took the seat over from his dad who took it from his father. Joe viewed it as an obligation to the community.”
J.J. echoed that sentiment.
“He was the third and longest in his family with 42 years on the board,” he said.
Walworth County honored Schaefer in 2011 when it named a segment of the former Highway 11 in the Town of Spring Prairie, “County Trunk Highway JS.
The portion of the roadway, from the bypass east to Mormon Road, resulted from the Highway 11 bypass project.
J.J. said his father’s priorities were family, Lyons, Walworth County and his restaurant – the Ye Olde Hotel Bar & Restaurant on Railroad Street in Lyons.
“He was there every day running the bar since 1969,” J.J. said. “He hated closing it, the restaurant was such a part of his life. He didn’t even want to close it for my wedding, since it was a Saturday night, but he did because family was more important. It meant a lot for my wife and I and a lot of the employees were able to come to the wedding then too.”
Bretl said the restaurant was Schaefer’s direct line into the community.
“ He had no email or Twitter, but boy, the hotel was a good source of social interaction,” Bretl said. “He would talk to people, explains things and get their point of view. I was always asking him what people were saying because he would know.”
J.J. said he dad loved talking with people and was a generous person who frequently went out of his way to help others.
“He made sure there were meals on Thanksgiving and some Christmases for anyone who needed it,” J.J. said. “He donated turkeys to new families in the township at times, too.
Schaefer was also a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Burlington VFW Post 2823, and Lyons American Legion Post 327 and volunteered countless hours to these and other organizations.
“He could rub people the wrong way at first, but once you got to know him and he loosened up, he became a friend,” he continued. “He was big on community and family, his family was so important to him, his grandkids were the light of his life.”
Schaefer was never one to hold a grudge, Bretl said. Even when things would become divisive on the County Board.
“He always kept things in perspective,” Bretl said. “He saw the need that we all had to get along and keep moving forward, despite of disagreements. He was always a friendly guy and ready to move on to the next challenge.”
Bretl said Schaefer was one of a kind and started every morning patrolling the Town of Lyons.
“I think it was a throwback to when supervisors did that way back when,” Bretl said. “Joe kept that tradition going right up until the end, every day he went out and surveyed the town.”
J.J. said he also did something else on his morning patrol run. He took scraps from the restaurant to several farms in the area and fed the farm cats.
“It’s why we asked for any donations in his name to be given to the Lakeland Animal Shelter, because he was such an animal lover.”
Bretl said the County Board hasn’t discussed how to fill Schaefer’s seat yet, they’re still grieving and it’s not something they want to jump into.
“These are some pretty big shoes to fill,” he said. “We’re all feeling down this week. Joe has a special place in the county’s history and he will be one of those board members we’re talking about 20 years from now.
“He was always concerned about the little guy, it was important to him. He would remind me there are people out there who are having a tough time paying their bills and we needed to be aware of that. He was such an advocate for those in need. He was an ardent supporter of the special needs school and the nursing home. Part of the reason we even have those programs in the county is because of Joe’s advocacy and support. He leaves a real legacy.”
Schaefer is survived by his son Joseph “J.J.” (Heather), of Burlington; stepchildren, Sherry (James) Vanderwerff, Burlington, Terry (Richard) Beversdorf, Watertown, Donald (Carol) Guzzetta, Burlington, Tony (Kelly) Guzzetta, Burlington; 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 21, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 1540 Mill St., Lyons, with Fr. Jim Volkert officiating.
Burial with military honors will follow services at St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery, Lyons.
Visitation is from 2 to 8 p.m., with a prayer service at 7:45 p.m., on Friday, Jan. 20, at Haase-Lockwood & Associates Funeral Home and Crematory, 730 N. Wisconsin St., Elkhorn.
Memorials may be made in Joe’s name to Lakeland Animal Shelter, P.O. 1000, Elkhorn, WI 53121.
His full obituary can be found online at myracinecounty.com.
