LES SCHAFFER
1947 - 1976
PILOT
DEN


Forgive this late notification...the Gone West of Capt. Les Schaffer on 8/10/05  of Parkinson Disease.  
All arrangements were private.
Regretfully,
-Ace Avakian
(8/23/05)

Where did Les live?
Was Lester his actual name?
I'm trying to find an obituary if you've seen one.
-Jake Lamkins
(8/25/05)

Les (his real first name is Lester) Schaffer was living in Aurora Colorado.  
His services were very (strictly) private at the request of his last wishes and therefore of his family.  
He went west because of Parkinson's disease. He was one my favorite captains when I first came on board Monarch Air Lines in 1948.  
He was from Ottumwa, Iowa and he learned to fly there and then joined the Royal Canadian Air Force when Britain went to war with Germany.
He ferried Lockheed "Hudson" bombers across the North Atlantic from Canadian ports to London on the Lend-Lease program prior to the US entry into WWII.
An interesting note - - on one of his assignments, he lost an engine on take-off and was forced to land on a frozen lake 
during a snowstorm.  
He along with his copilot and crew chief huddled together under a tarp for 2 days prior to their rescue.  
They ran out of cigarettes and used a toothpick to share their last cigarette.  
When finally rescued, they found out their entire load was Lucky Strike cigarettes bound for the USO's in London, England! 
He was a wonderful person - a great pilot - and I learned quite a bit from him as his copilot during the DC-3 days with Monarch.
I cannot tell you the hollow, sad feeling I get when I tack a name to our Gone West Scroll.  
The memories of the known ones really tug at my heart strings as I recall good times together.  
I guess at our age, we have to expect these things but when they do happen, it just seems so, so sad.
I guess all we can do is to look back and -  remember, "the good times."
-Ace Avakian
(8/25/05  

In the Gone West, you needed more info on Les Schaffer.
I talked to his wife, Lee; he was 88 when he passed away & had Parkinson's.
-Darlene Spieler
(11/13/09)

L E  SCHAFFER
Pilot seniority date of 4/4/47 on the 10/28/67 & 9/1/72 FL/ALPA seniority lists.
The May 1976 article notes his retirement with 29 years.
-Jake Lamkins
(11/13/09)

LESTER E SCHAFFER  
Born 31 Mar 1917 
Died 10 Aug 2005 
Age 88
At 80237 (Denver, Denver, CO) 
SSN issued in Iowa 
-SSDI
(11/13/09)