He was 60.
>> OBITUARY: James Schaefer
The businesses are located at 419 E. Fifth St. and 423 E. Fifth Street.
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“Above all he loved his wife, sons, daughter, family and friends,” his obituary reads.
A mass of Christian burial was held for Schaefer on Friday, April 26 at Luke Catholic Church in Beavercreek.
Schaefer, who was known as "Cowboy" to some, bought the bar previously known as T.B. Hopkins in 1994 and transformed it in to Ned Peppers, Ned's manager Austin Smith said.
“He was probably one of the best men. He’d give you the shirt off his back, wouldn’t back down from a fight,” he said of his employer of 21 years. “He is going to live on vicariously through his employees and family.”
Both bars will remain open, Smith said.
Schaefer last spoke to this new organization in 2016 about his decision to require payment for parking lots behind his businesses.
“This is more for security and cleanliness and supplying the customers somewhere to park,” he said of the decision.
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Born in Wichita, Kansas to James and Nancy Schaefer, Schaefer was a sub contractor for Rough Brothers and owned Buckeye Construction in the Oregon District.
A member of the Oregon District Business Association, he renovated several buildings in the neighborhood, the best historic neighborhood in the 2018 Best of Dayton contest.
"Jim was a savvy businessman. It's hard to think of a business operator that's had more impact on Dayton's vibrant nightlife," said Andy Rowe, a ODBA board member and a Blind Bob's Bar manager.
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Schaefer's survivors include Christine Schaefer, his wife of 29 years, and his children Evan James Schaefer, Wyatt James Schaefer and Nicole LeAnn Bayard Schaefer.
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