Remembering Ron Schafer

As head of the Angeles District, Ron Schafer pushed to develop urban parks in the core of L.A., most recently helping to establish state parks along the Los Angeles River and near Chinatown.

The below is excerpted from a September 20, 2010 story by Valerie J. Nelson in the Los Angeles Times

Schafer, who as superintendent of the California state parks' Angeles District pushed to develop urban parks in the core of Los Angeles, has died. He was 53.

Schafer had finished competing in a Malibu triathlon Sept. 12 and was eating with friends when he had a stroke. He died Wednesday (09/15/10) at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, said his brother, Randy.

In a statement, Ruth Coleman, director of California State Parks, said Schafer did everything in life with "tremendous passion" and left behind "a legacy of park protection."

Since 2002, he had overseen the Angeles District, which encompasses 18 park units in the Los Angeles area.

In that role, and throughout his career, Schafer had emphasized building partnerships that helped establish new state parks in urban areas. The new parks included two downtown—Rio de Los Angeles State Park along the Los Angeles River and Los Angeles State Historic Park north of Chinatown.

He also is credited with strengthening the state parks' relationship with the National Park Service in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and the Santa Monica Conservancy. Schaefer had chaired the conservancy's board since 2008.

Joseph T. Edmiston, executive director of the conservancy, called Schafer "a rock of integrity" whose "indomitable spirit and absolute commitment to public parkland made him a standout as a colleague and friend."

Ronald Paul Schafer was born in 1957, in Akron, Ohio, and grew up in Newport Beach and Los Gatos, Calif.

He was a mischievous child who learned to swim in two hours when he was about four, recalled his mother, Pat Farrell.

At the University of Texas at Austin, Schaefer swam competitively and completed his bachelor's degree in biology at San Jose State.

He joined the state park system as a seasonal lifeguard when he was 18 and returned in 1984 as a permanent peace officer and lifeguard at Huntington and Bolsa Chica state beaches.

As he rose through the ranks, Schafer oversaw the state park lifeguard program, served as superintendent of Chino Hills and Lake Perris operations in Riverside County and was district superintendent in the Bay Area.

Fellow state park employees considered Schafer a mentor, "a team builder" and "inspiration to many," said Tony Perez, deputy director for park operations.

Schafer, who was divorced, had been living in the ranger residence at Malibu Creek State Park and recently had moved to Costa Mesa.