Milton Schaeffer's Obituary
Milton Schaeffer, businessman and patron of the arts in Memphis for more than fifty years, died at his home in Forest Hill on November 22. He was 97. Owner of Bluff City Buick Company, first at 739 Union Ave, then at 1810 Getwell Road, he was also a real estate investor in Shelby County and in Dallas, Texas. He was a devotee of classical music, often attending performances of the Metropolitan Opera in New York; here at home he was especially proud of his involvement in the founding of the Iris Orchestra in 2000.
Born in Capleville in 1927, the fourth of eight children of Joseph Henry Schaeffer and Martha Sue Randolph, he graduated from Whitehaven High School in 1945, and immediately enlisted in the Navy. He was shipped out to the West coast along with thousands of other young men during the summer of 1945 as the US prepared for the possible invasion of Japan. Naval training in Oregon was the first of Milton’s travels away from Tennessee, leading to a lifelong love of travel, especially to France. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of all things French, never forgetting a meal eaten there or a beautiful drive in the French countryside. He became an expert baker of French baguettes, inviting everyone to bread-making lessons in his kitchen. After his naval service he returned to Memphis and in 1949 married Joan Harrell of Collierville, who died in 2004. He graduated from Memphis State College in 1950, and joined his brother Joe in the automobile business, first in Memphis, then West Memphis. From 1956 to 1961 he owned Schaeffer Lincoln-Mercury in Mobile, Alabama, returning to Memphis in 1961 to operate Bluff City Buick, which remained in business until 2005. Milton and Joan became active in arts groups in Memphis in the 1970’s, in leadership roles in the Memphis Arts Council and the Pink Palace Museum. In later years they supported Germantown Performing Arts Center, especially Iris Orchestra, and also the Tennessee Shakespeare Company. Milton lived for 57 years on Forest Hill Road, turning his ten acres into a beautiful showplace of trees and flowers, especially his well-known “host of daffodils” every Spring, a display inspired by his favorite Wordsworth poem. He leaves his children: Jill Broer (Rick), Harrell Schaeffer (Irma), Mitty Schaeffer (Anne), Joanie Goss (Dean), Joey Schaeffer (Kristi), and Thai Hoang (Cindy). He was especially proud of his 16 grandchildren: McLean Doughtie, Farrar Vaughan, Katie Parr, Hallie Dixon, and Rebecca Anthony of Memphis; Bryson Kennedy, Charlotte NC; Turner Schaeffer, Wilmington NC; Schay Barnhardt, Hudson OH; Quincy Goss and Miles Sullivan, New York NY; Dean Goss, Stamford CT; Copley Broer, Dallas TX; Court Hoang, Fort Worth TX; Carolyn Springs, Scottsdale AZ; TQ Hoang, Moraga CA; Peyton Broer, London. He is also survived by 26 great-grandchildren. Memorials can be sent to Iris Collective, P.O. Box 38407, Germantown, TN 38183 or Tennessee Shakespeare Company, 7950 Trinity Road, Memphis, TN 38018.
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