Monte Alan Schaeffer

Monte Alan Schaeffer, 67, of Westminster, Maryland, died Sunday, August 25, at his home after a valiant four-year battle with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer. 

Born July 31, 1952 in Baltimore and raised in Westminster, he was the husband of Deborah Day Schaeffer, to whom he was married 30 years.  He was the son of the late John Calvin Schaeffer, a well-known Westminster banker and community service advocate.   Monte was a 1970 graduate of Westminster High School and attended Bridgewater College.  He was a mason for 41 years for various masonry companies, retiring in June 2017 from Bruce Muller Masonry.  He worked on many buildings in Westminster, many private homes, and did a great deal of the masonry on his dream home on Hughes Shop Road, which he and Debbie were fortunate enough to build in 1988, the same year they married.

Monte was an avid weightlifter, who competed in many competitions in the area, including York Pennsylvania, in his younger years.  Most importantly, he was a die-hard fan of the Grateful Dead, collecting thousands of the band’s performances and going to countless concerts.  He took great pride in splitting and stacking wood and upkeeping his yard.  He enjoyed porch nights, with a cold beer in his hand and one of his many Grateful Dead concerts playing in the background; countless evenings by the backyard fire pit, which he built himself in 2016; swimming in the backyard pool; and especially father-son concert trips to venues all over the region.  He enjoyed hiking with friends and family on the Appalachian Trail and had many fun times at the family’s Spoon Hill property up in Union Mills.  He also loved following the Baltimore Orioles, both in good and bad times.

Some friends refer to Monte as “the coolest guy they ever knew.”

Surviving, in addition to his wife, is a son, Samuel E. Schaeffer of Westminster; mother Evelyn A. Schaeffer, of Westminster ; a brother Craig Schaeffer (Margie) of Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania; a sister Lou Ann Watson (John), of Warner Robins, Georgia; mother-in-law Peggy Day, of Westminster; nephew Calvin Schaeffer (Aniko) of Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania; niece Emily Boyd (Loder) of Perry, Georgia; brother-in-law Derek Day (Kathy) of Clinton, North Carolina; nieces Connor Day of San Jose, California and Sarah Day of Greensboro, North Carolina;  great nephews Nathan Schaeffer and Colton Boyd; and many, many loyal friends.  He was predeceased by nephews Keith A. Schaeffer and John David Thompson and former spouse, Denise Murdock Schaeffer.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, August 28, 2019 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the MYERS-DURBORAW FUNERAL HOME, 91 Willis Street, Westminster.  Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 29, 2019 at the funeral home.  Burial will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Silver Run.

Donations can be made to Carroll Hospice, 292 Stoner Avenue, Westminster, Md. 21157 or to Zero Prostate Cancer, 515 King Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314.