Horace Shaffer
Dr. Horace M. Shaffer, 96, of Newtown, Pa., died Sept. 5, 2019. Born in Trenton, he lived in New York City and New Hope, Pa., before moving to Newtown’s Pennswood Village in 2014.
Dr. Shaffer had a private practice in internal medicine in Trenton and was associated with Lower Bucks Hospital in Bristol, Pa., and Mercer Medical Center in Trenton, where he served as chair of the Medical Department and medical director. He retired in 1987 from his practice.
He was a graduate of Trenton High School, Princeton University, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia Medical School. He interned at Bellevue Hospital and completed his residency at Veterans Hospital.
He served in the Navy on the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. During his service he became friends with Alan Shepard, the first American to travel into space. The two had the opportunity to meet Eleanor Roosevelt in Paris.
Considered by many a “Renaissance” man, he studied the classics and humanities, learning Greek, Latin, and French. After retiring, he studied drawing, painting, sculpting, alto sax, and clarinet and was a volunteer for 14 years at Chandler Hall in Newtown. A practitioner of Dzogchen, a form of Tibetan Buddhism, for many years, he attended retreats with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche.
Predeceased by a daughter, Karen, he is survived by his wife of 42 years, Joyce; his children, Pamela Leeds, Richard Shaffer, and Jill McGlone; two stepchildren, Wendy (Mitch) Kraus and Rob (Cindy) Bear; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandsons.
Arrangements were handled by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel, Ewing. Memorial contributions may be made to the Fellowship Fund at Pennswood Village.
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