Sad News....

[EJ]

Don Schaberg passed away April 8. I pulled the following obituatry from the local paper:

Donald A. Schaberg
Donald A. Schaberg, Don to most, Dad to 6, Grandon to 22, and Great-Grandon to 7 passed on April 8, 2008 after a brief illness. A near life-long resident of the Lansing area, Don is remembered as a loving husband to his "precious wife" the late Mary Lou Cooley Schaberg, a family man, businessman, gentle man and philosopher by his brother Jerry Schaberg, sister, Marilyn Cornelius, sons, Richard (Joy) of Haslett, MI, James (Susann) of Leland, MI, Frederic (Cheryl) of Tampa, FL, Jack (Terry) of Williamston, MI, and daughters, Marcia (Paul) Hufstader of Grand Rapids, MI, and Deborah (Tim) Foley of Scottsdale, AZ, as well as his grandchildren, Elizabeth (Aric) Kuester, Heather (John) Keough, Christopher (Lara), Andrew (Adrienne), Donald (Angela), Brandon Foley, Zane (Jeffrey) Schweiger, Phillip Hufstader, Taryn (Nathan) Sullivan, Michael Hufstader, Kyle, Taylor (Stephanie), James, Frances Foley, Steven Hufstader, Drake, Patrick Foley, Benjamin, Marina, Richard, Reece, Brett; great-grandchildren, Hailey, Paige and Savannah Schaberg, Kailyn Schaberg, Donald and Christine Keuough, Phelina Kuester, Amabelle Schweiger, Donald and Christine Keough ... and everyone else who was fortunate enough to make his acquaintance during his many wonderful years with us.

After serving in the Navy during WWII, Don worked for the Schaberg-Dietrich Hardware, then began a long and successful career in various aspects of the building products industry.

He formed Schaberg Lumber Company in 1950, and with brother Jerry and friend Donald Butcher, Heart Truss and Engineering in 1964. As a long-time member of the Lansing Rotary Club, Don at one point compiled a 34-year record of perfect attendance. He was associated with dozens of other organizations, locally and nationally, and was always willing to lend a helping hand to many worthy causes. He also wrote extensively, publishing a book called "RISK", detailing his years at the helm of a start-up robotics company in Lansing and a book of odes called "ACCOLADES."

A third book he'd begun, "Press on for Success" will be completed by one of his sons. He worked with the great architect Frank Lloyd Wright on the design of his home which he lived in for 50 years and is well-known for the "tower" near the house which he designed and built in the late 1960s.

He and Mary Lou traveled and entertained extensively, but more than anything else loved spending time with their family. His good nature, sage advice, boundless energy, and desire to always try new things will be missed by all but forgotten by none. A memorial service took place April 19 at Peoples Church, 200 W. Grand River Avenue, East Lansing. Per Don's wishes, in lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory can be made to First Church of Christ, Scientist - in continuing memory of Mary Lou - (709 E. Grand River, East Lansing, MI 48823), Rotary Club Foundation of Lansing (417 Seymour St., Ste 6, Lansing, MI 48933), or Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy (53 West Jackson St. Suite 1120, Chicago, IL 60604). The family is being served by the Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, East Lansing, MI.


I've mentioned before in this forum that I met Mr. Schaberg when I called him and asked to visit his home. He graciously accomodated my request and gave me a tour of his house. He and I then sat in his office and chatted about Mr. Wright and other topics. He was a very thoughful, intelligent person who was the epitome of the typical Wright client. My condolences go out to his family and many friends.


If someone could send me instructions, I'll be happy to post some of the many pictures I took of his house.

[SDR]

EJ -- thanks for the topic and the quoted obituary.

You can link us to your photo album if you like, or, to post photos here:

The process requires that you have a web hosting utility. Others have reported using one of the free ones like Shutterfly, Photobucket or Snapfish. I have a Yahoo Small Business Web Host account. When I want to post an image here, I export it from the photo library to the "documents" file in my computer. Then, on my Web Host page, I upload the image from that documents list, display it, and copy the URL "address" to Wright Chat, surrounding the URL with the required protocol.


SDR

[MattCline]

I had the privilege of meeting Don a couple of years ago at his home for the Conservancy conference. He was such an extraordinary fellow. Kind, cheerful and a true gentle man. What a great way to have lived one's life. He left a great legacy and he will be missed.