Daniel Carl Schaefer II was born on June 3, 1944 in San Jose, CA. His parents were Josephine La Vern Schaefer and Daniel Carl Schaefer, and he was their only child. Dan grew up in theSaratoga, Los Gatos, and Monte Sereno area of California and graduated from San Jose High School on June 14, 1962.
Dan worked at Capitol Records in L.A. for a few years where he met the love of his life Kent Manthrone. Dan also worked as an assistant office manager for a law firm and as a financial manager for the Los Angeles International Film Festival until they merged with AFI.
In 1987, Dan and Kent moved to San Diego. Dan switched careers and became a successful travel agent for three decades. This allowed him and his life-partner, Kent (who predeceased him), to take many cruises and land trips to various parts of the world.
Also in 1987, Dan & Kent began volunteering with San Diego LGBT Pride and began their long, devoted volunteer commitment as safety and parade volunteers, and as ticket sales coordinators in early 1990. Dan & Kent were also long-standing members of the Fellowship of Older Gays. Also around this time Dan & Kent started volunteering with the Parade of Lights and became members of the Chula Vista Yacht Club. Dan later became the Treasurer on the Board of the Parade of Lights.
On May 10, 2011, Jerry Sanders, Mayor of the City of San Diego, honored Dan by proclaiming May 10, 2011 Dan Schaefer Day in recognition of the contributions Dan had made to the City of San Diego’s LGBT community and commended him for his more than 24 years of volunteer service.
In 2003, Dan became a member of Christ Church Unity and volunteered in many ways including being an usher and greeter for 15 years.
“Dapper” Dan was seldom seen without one of his signature hats that was always matched to the rest of his outfit. Dan was a man of many interests; he loved the opera and musicals, movies in general and the classic black and white movies on TCM in particular. His greatest love was being around people and enjoying food, chocolate cake, and conversation with friends. Dan was a loving and caring person, a good friend, and he will be greatly missed!
San Diego Pride raises funds primarily through festival ticket and beverage sales, and through sponsorships, and exhibitor fees. These funds support San Diego Pride’s community philanthropy which has distributed more than $2.5 million in advancement of its mission to foster pride, equality, and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities locally, nationally, and globally.
