Mr. Walter Lewis Shaffer, age 83, of Knoxville, TN,
passed from this life on April 5, 2021, at his residence surrounded by his
loving family.
Mr. Shaffer was born on February 11, 1938, in Confluence, Pennsylvania, to
the late Kenneth Jacob Shaffer, and Mary Grace (Fazenbaker) Rowe. Walter
and his late wife, Elinor Jane (Kennedy) Shaffer, resided in Knoxville,
Tennessee. He continued his residence in Knoxville, after he was widowed in
2016. Walter, more affectionately known as Walt, Dad, “G”, and Granddaddy
Walt, was extremely handsome, gentle-spoken, sensitive, humble, and
completely analytical in his thoughts and words. He had a dry sense of
humor, and he was fiercely loyal and devoted to his wife and the rest of
his family. He also deeply loved his dog, Molly. Most everyone knew about
his love of cars, particularly Volkswagen Beetles, and all models of
Porsches. Because of his great humility, however, many were unaware of his
enormous professional accomplishments, which included among other things,
contributions to NASA Apollo Projects 8 through 17 and the Skylab Space
Station, during his work at The Boeing Company/ Aerospace Division.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by brothers, Judson
Kenneth Shaffer, Thomas Irving All, and David Mitchell Rowe.
Mr. Shaffer is survived by sons, William Rust, Santa Fe, NM, Bradley
(Joyce) Rust, Hartsville, IN; daughters, Cindy (Roger) Brown, Seward, AK,
Jill (Paul) Bruno, Franklin, TN, Joy Shaffer, Knoxville, TN; fourteen
grandchildren, Meagan, Rachael, Derek, Laura, Ian, Dylan, Franz, Alma,
Eric, Valerie, Ali, Olivia, Ben, and Max; six great grandchildren, Jocelin,
Charley Rose, Murphy Claire, Brayden, Ronin, and Harper.
Family will receive friends on Sunday, April 11, 2021, from 12 noon until
2:00pm at Central Funeral Home in Manchester, TN. Funeral services will be
conducted immediately following the visitation at 2:00pm. Burial will
follow at Rose Hill Memorial Gardens.
Central Funeral Home is serving the family, 931-723-7774,
centralfuneralhome.com
