Dr. Leonard R. Schaer passed away on August 23, 2015 at the age of 84 after an extended period of illness and will be remembered lovingly by his family and friends.
Len was born in Buffalo, New York on March 5, 1931 and grew up there including earning both his Bachelor degree in Mathematics and Medical degree from the University of Buffalo. He married Eleanore Marcovitz on February 11, 1956 and together they moved to Crane, Indiana where he served in the US Navy as Chief Medical Officer. In 1963, Len and his family moved to El Cerrito, California to work as a Research Associate at Donner Laboratory on the UC Berkeley campus and then moved his family to Walnut Creek in 1965 where he joined Kaiser Permanente practicing Internal Medicine and was the Chief of Nuclear Medicine in the Walnut Creek facility for many years. He eventually transferred to the Kaiser Medical offices in Pleasanton to focus on Internal Medicine and retired in the late 1980s.
Throughout his life Len was involved in Judaism and along with his wife Eleanore and three sons, he was a member of Congregation B'nai Shalom of Walnut Creek since 1965 and participated in synagogue events including helping the synagogue purchase their first Torah by leading a drive to collect "Blue Chip" stamps (a precursor to "loyalty reward programs"). Len's other interests included music, travel, continued education, painting and cooking. He also took great pleasure in taking care of his granddaughters, Danielle and Talia, when they were little and attended their numerous school shows and dance recitals.
Len is survived by his wife of 59 years, Eleanore, his son Alan Schaer and daughter-in-law Cindy of San Ramon, CA, and his son Larry Schaer and daughter-in-law Julie of Apex, NC. He is also survived by his three granddaughters: Danielle Schaer and Talia Schaer of San Ramon, CA and Katrina Schaer of Apex, NC. He was preceded in death by his son, Stephen Schaer, his parents Samuel and Miriam Schaer and his brothers, Howard Schaer and Sidney Schaer.
A funeral will be held at Gan Shalom Cemetery (1100 Bear Creek Road, Briones, CA 94553) on Tuesday, August 25 at 1:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to:
Dogs for the Deaf, 10175 Wheeler Rd, Central Point, OR 97502
The Yosemite Conservancy, 101 Montgomery St #1700, San Francisco, CA 94104
Congregation B'nai Shalom, 74 Eckley Ln, Walnut Creek, CA 94596