BARRY SCHAEFFER OBITUARY
Barry Schaeffer, 90, passed away Friday morning, September 30, 2022 at his Parsippany, NJ home. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Barry had moved with his family to Lake Hiawatha as a teenager. He worked at Transistor Devices Inc. of Randolph for over 25 years before his retirement in 1997. A man of many trades, he could repair anything! He had also previously owned Par-Troy Auto Parts and an outdoor sports store. Barry was a volunteer with the Parsippany Office of Emergency Management and an avid amateur radio operator. He loved boating, cooking, and spending time in his convertible Mini Cooper.
A note from Mike, K2NNN:
Barry, WA2UEM, was an avid lover of HF. His love for HF was infectious. He would always talk about making contacts around the world without the use of the Internet. This love for HF became a big influence on me. I began my radio experience with CB so I spent hours trying to work skip. Once I became a ham, I had the opportunity to realize my dream of long distance communication. With Barry’s help and support, he encouraged me to get my HF station up and running.
Even in the beginning when I had my first antenna, which was limiting, Barry kept telling me to just try and make contacts and not worry about the compromises. He was right. I would find a clear spot on the band and just call CQ. Low and behold someone would come back to my call. I was bitten by the HF bug.
I would love listening to the stories Barry would tell. He had many many contacts over the years including a QSO with King Hussein of Jordan. He also loved making contacts with the many DXpeditions over the years. Simply put, anything HF made him happy.
I will truly miss Barry, but he will live on every time I turn on my rig. I hope he has many DX contacts during his eternal rest.
