Robert William "Bill" Schafer

Robert William "Bill" Schafer, 91, died Thursday, April 24, 2014. He was born Nov. 1, 1922, to William and Alice Schafer. He was a native of Stuttgart, Ark. and a lifetime member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church. Survivors are his nine children, Susan Hayes (Rich) of New York City, Bob Schafer (Billye Ann) of Orlando, Sandra Keyes of Dallas, Barbara Hildebrand (David) of Little Rock, Stephen Schafer of Stuttgart, John Schafer (Betty) of Bigelow, Lisa Pierce (Mickey) of Stuttgart, Patty Schafer of Biloxi and Janie Hicks (Kevin) of Colt; 12 grandchildren, Jason Schafer, Preston and Keeton Maddox, Christian Hildebrand, Ginea Qualls (Dave), Brandon and Michael Schafer (Lizzie), Stephen and Clay Shook, Matt and Trent Turner and Hannah Hicks; and three great-grandchildren, Gabe Hildebrand, Savannah Qualls and Ethan Schafer. Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret Seeman Schafer; grandson, Dustin McKinzie; six sisters, Jo Loveless, Roberta Mason, Veronica Graves, Elizabeth Rich, Fran Moncrief and AJ Holbert. He attended Arkansas Polytechnic College at Russellville before entering the Marine Corps in 1943. He was a Sergeant and served overseas for 30 months and received many ribbons and medals. He also attended Nashville Auto Diesel College where he later operated Schafer's Auto Repair where if you asked for credit he showed you a picture of his nine children he had on the wall of his office. He was an avid tennis player and served as President of the Stuttgart Tennis Association for many years. Visitation will be Sunday, April 27, from 5-6:30 p.m. at Turpin Funeral Home with Rosary at 6:30 p.m. Funeral Mass will be Monday, April 28, at 10 a.m. at Holy Rosary Catholic Church with burial following in Holy Rosary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Holy Rosary Catholic School or the donor's choice. Please go to www.turpinco.com to sign the online guestbook.