Passed away Thursday, September 13, 2007, in his home surrounded by his loving family. Rudy was born June 23, 1927 in Los Angeles, CA. After graduating from Hollywood High School he served in the Navy during WWII before attending UC Santa Barbara where he earned a BA in Education and Journalism. It was there he met Natalie, his loving and devoted wife of 58 years. While working as a classroom teacher, Rudy earned a Master of Science degree from USC in Education Administration. He then worked for the LA School District as Public Information Officer and Conservation Education Specialist, spending summers working as a Park Ranger at Olympic National Park in WA. Rudy came to be known as Mr. ECOED, the modern day father of Environmental Education. In 1967 he relocated his family to Sacramento and went to work for the CA Dept of Education as the first full-time Environmental Education (EE) Program Director. He founded the Western Regional Environmental Education Council, a 13-state organization that developed two major educational programs: Project Learning Tree and Project WILD, which are in use throughout the US and other countries and have served thousands of teachers and millions of students. During this time and after his retirement in 1987, Rudy served on a number of boards of directors of environmentally-focused organizations, receiving numerous awards for his work. He was considered a visionary by many people in the Environmental Education field. Rudy was owner, with his wife, of the Folsom Mercantile Antique Mall, and the CA Capital Show of Post Cards and Paper Collectibles. Rudy and his wife Natalie raised three wonderful children, sons Allyn, a boat operator for the CA State Parks on Angel Island and Martin, a veterinarian in Plumas County, and daughter Charlotte, a sales representative in the pet industry. Rudy also leaves three fine grandchildren, Kari, Kyle and Nick Schafer. Rudy’s family and friends will sorely miss him. Remembrances in Rudy’s honor may be sent to Project Learning Tree, 1111 19th St. NW, Suite 780, Washington, DC, 20036, and Project WILD, 5555 Morningside Dr., Suite 212, Houston, TX 77005. more |
SCHAFER, Rudolph J. H.