Breckenridge Texan

Bobbie B. Shafer

Bobbie B. Shafer
January 08
08:14 2021

Bobbie B. Shafer, 98, of Londonderry, New Hampshire, died on November 21, 2020, at Langdon Place in Nashua, N.H., after a short period of declining health. A memorial service honoring Bobbie’s life will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 14, 2021, at Breckenridge’s First Presbyterian Church under the direction of Melton-Kitchens Funeral Home. Andy Channer, Werth Mayes, and Chaunce Thompson will officiate the service.

Born in Fort Worth, Texas on May 8, 1922, Bobbie and her two sisters, the late Doris Easley and late Emily Dawson, were the daughters of the late Robert H. and Alma L. (Avinger) Bledsoe. She grew up and was educated in Stinnett. She earned her bachelor degree in teaching from Texas State College for Women (now TWU in Denton) in 1943.

Bobbie married her late husband, Richard L. Shafer, in 1944, while he was stationed in California, before returning to World War II in the South Pacific. Their three children, BJ Larson, Victoria MacFarlane and Mark Shafer, were born in Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. Bobbie lived life as a Navy wife for 27 years, moving every two to three years between Tennessee, Texas, Washington D.C., Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, Kansas, California, Morocco, Hawaii, Guam and Japan, returning home to Corpus Christi for retirement and new careers.

Bobbie began her career in 1943, with Wheelan Portrait Studio in N.Y.C., and travelled the southern states, training department store employees to photograph portraits for three years. She taught school for the Armed Forces in Zama, Japan, for three years and taught in the public schools in Corpus Christi for eight years. She co-owned Learning Inc which taught children and adults with reading disabilities like dyslexia, for eight years. She also worked for four years with the American Cancer Society, in the public schools, for the “Great American Smokeout.”

The Shafer’s retired to their Lake Hubbard (Breckenridge) home 40 plus years ago and compiled a list of Stephens County birds, which can be seen on the Breckenridge website. In 1989, Bobbie was awarded a plaque from South Ward Elementary School for teaching English and reading to 12 Cambodian students after school hours, for a year She was a member of the Presbyterian Church for 31 years and a member of the Presbyterian Women’s Study Group for 20 years. Bobbie was in the Garden Club for 25 years, serving as the photographer and historian for 15 years. She was also a member of the Gold Room Bridge Group, where there were generally four tables. Bobbie loved bridge and the camaraderie with fellow players.

Bobbie’s philosophy: “For a long, active life, one must exercise the body and the mind.” She was an active member of the Stephens Memorial Hospital Wellness Center for over 17 years and played bridge twice a week for over 16 years. She also belonged to a book club, for monthly reading, for 13 years.

Bobbie was preceded in death by her beloved husband Richard L. Shafer in June 2011, and her first-born son, Richard Allen Shafer, in 1946.

Surviving family members include her three children, seven grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.

Condolences can be made online at meltonkitchens.com.

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