San Jose Bike Party to commemorate fallen cyclist

Charles Schaffer
July 26, 2012
R.I.P.

While riding down Campbell avenue west of San Tomas Aquino on the evening of July 26, traffic was diverted near Kirkwood Shopping Center due to a traffic incident. At the time I did not know a bicyclist was involved. That cyclists turned out to be Charles Schaffer of Cupertino, a 56 year old valley native who was passionate about Ultimate (also know as Ultimate Frisbee).

One of his Ultimate team members and fellow cyclists has built a ghost bike to honor Charles. San Jose Bike Party will be memorializing Charles next Friday during their monthly ride. A procession will be led past the ghost bike so that participants can honor a fellow cyclist.

Here is Mr. Schaffers obituary from the San Jose Mercury News.


Resident of Cupertino

Charles was a fourth generation Californian, born in San Jose to Walter Dickson and Laverne Abston Shaffer. He grew up in San Jose, except for a 3-1/2 year period during elementary school when the family lived in Switzerland and Belgium. He attended Pioneer High School, graduating with the Class of 1974. He attended San Jose State for several years, studying Molecular Biology and Psychology while working part-time in various jobs. Ultimately, he secured a position as a travel consultant, wherein he found his professional calling. He stopped his college schooling a few credits short of his degree and proceeded to work in the travel business full time, touring the world and being able to provide personal testimonial to his clients. Ultimately Charles owned Oaks Travel in The Oaks Shopping Center, an agency he ran for 12 years until it closed for business in the post 9/11 on-line shopping era of travel. Along the way he garnered numerous awards and recognitions for excellent service and professionalism. For the last several years he struggled to find employment, working odd jobs when available.

While at San Jose State Charles also found his passion – the sport of Ultimate. Charles played constantly, combining the sport with his travel calling, touring the world while playing. He played recreationally and competitively, including representing the U.S. at the World Championships, but the accomplishment for which he was most proud was co-founding the Kaimana Klassic Ultimate tournament in Oahu, Hawaii, an event he conceived once his brother Tom had relocated to Hawaii. That tournament is now in its 26th year and routinely has 32 teams competing annually. A lifelong road and mountain biking cyclist, for the past several years he played ultimate nearly every day, always riding his bike somewhere to play. He used his rides for a workout, and though an attentive rider, always with helmet on and with good situational awareness, tragically it was while riding a bike he was killed.

Charles was a people person and family was important to him. He was preceded in death by his father Walter Dickson Shaffer in 2001. He is survived by his mother Laverne (Abby) Shaffer, his brother Tom Shaffer, sister-in law Vernette Shaffer, nephew Alex Shaffer, niece Megan Shaffer, one aunt, one uncle, and 17 first cousins. Memorial services will be held on Saturday August 11, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. at St Francis Episcopal Church, 1205 Pine Avenue in San Jose. If so compelled, in lieu of flowers the family requests donations in his memory to the Sempervirens Fund (http://www.sempervirens.org/) or to the Make-A-Wish Foundation (http://www.wish.org/).