Jean Edward Schaefer of Cincinnati, Ohio passed away peacefully on Friday, December 16, 2022 at the age of 92. Jean was born March 18, 1930 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Joseph and Grace (nee: Gosmeyer) Schaefer.

From a very early age, Jean loved working with almost all things mechanical. He loved working with his hands -- a love nurtured by his elder brother, and his father, who sold model kits to supplement his regular job. He graduated from Central Vocational School, proudly served in the United States Army, and worked briefly at GE Aircraft Engines before being hired at Procter and Gamble in 1954, where he worked for over 33 years before his retirement.

For almost 45 years, he was both employed and spent much of his leisure time doing what he loved -- designing and building "things"; from simple, small models to large, complex, high-speed production machines. He had a well-deserved reputation for being "able to fix about anything", though he would often build a new replacement that worked just as well and sometimes better. He was knowledgeable about and worked with all manner of materials; all types of wood and metals, but also plastics, and even non-woven fabrics.

When his second child was due, he commissioned a builder to construct a "shell" (foundation, four walls, and a subfloor) on a 1 acre wooded lot. He completed all the remaining exterior and interior house construction on nights/weekends with very little help. He ultimately lived there for 63 years, maintaining most everything in excellent condition.

Almost immediately after moving in, he set about building a modest, but complete machine shop in the basement. He mostly salvaged and repaired discarded old, often-broken, tools; everything from broken handles on small hand tools to a band saw with two cracked wheels, and a drill press with missing column and base. Others, including a 2-ton hydraulic press he built nearly from scratch. He replaced the AC motors on four tools with DC motors (salvaged and repaired, of course) and custom built the four DC power supplies.

He kept his Depression Era aversion to buying "expensive products" long after he had built sufficient savings, especially if he could make them himself. He often made things that were new enough they were not yet being manufactured in quantity. He would find someone who would allow him to carefully examine and make notes and quick sketches, and then he would build a "work-alike" of his own design. Notable examples include a baseball pitching machine in 1968, and "mini-bike" and two separate garage door openers in the 1970s.

He was credited with six US patents (and listed for major support work on four others) while working at Procter and Gamble.  Nearly all who worked with him praise his wide range of knowledge, especially in regard to mechanical and electrical topics.  His advice was often sought, especially by younger engineers in his later years.  Though when he retired, he joked that he would be remembered most for his "wearing a white dress shirt and bow tie every day for 30-plus years".

He devoted much of his first three years of retirement to a lifelong dream of building a car; a two-seat Roadster. Like the house, he bought the absolute minimum (basic frame and raw fiberglass body shell), rebuilt a salvaged four-cylinder engine, and fabricated, assembled, and painted(!) nearly everything else.

Approaching age 70, he developed a passion for genealogy, even traveling to Europe four times to research his immigrant ancestors. He successfully located and spent several hundred hours with four generations of descendents on his mother's side currently residing in the Netherlands and southern Germany. Three of those families came to the US on five occasions, to both visit popular places and sites, but "to spend a couple of days with Mr. Schaefer".

Jean was preceded in death by his parents, son-in-law Jim Magee, and sister-in-law Charlotte Schaefer. He is survived by his three children: Patricia Magee, Scott (Jan) Schaefer, and Jennifer Schaefer; by grandsons Tom (Jen) Doyle and Joseph Schaefer; by brother Thomas Schaefer; by nephew Neal (Connie) Schaefer; and by great-granddaughter Lyndie Doyle.

Visitation will be held at the Paul R. Young Funeral Home in Mt. Healthy on January 3, 2023 from 10:00-11:30 am. Mass of Christian Burial will follow at noon at St. Ann Catholic Church in Groesbeck. Interment will follow at St. Joseph (Old) Cemetery, 3819 W. 8th St. in Price Hill.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests any donations be made to one of: Kelly O'Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders (https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/service/k/autism), Ripley County,
IN Historical Society (https://www.rchslib.org/), or Crossroads Hospice (https://www.crossroadshospice.com)