Douglas J. Schaefer ’86

Doug, the athlete, economist, Scrabble star, ornithologist, and field biologist, died of natural causes Aug. 9, 2023, in New Rockford, N.D.

Doug graduated from New Rockford High School, where he learned so easily that he needed to take courses at N.D. State and played many sports (football quarterback, basketball, and track). At Princeton, he lettered in track and field (javelin) and joined Elm Club while concentrating in economics and history, writing a thesis titled, “The Effects of Allocation of the Replacement of Self-Interest with Christian Altruism.”

After graduation, Doug continued studying economics, earning a master’s degree from Northwestern, and then working as an economist in Houston and Washington, D.C. In 1996, he changed direction, joining the Peace Corps, where his work in Guatemala sparked a deep interest in conservation, evolutionary biology, and ornithology.

From then on, he studied birds throughout the United States as well as the world in prairies, jungles, and everywhere in between in places such as Venezuela, Papua New Guinea, and Northwestern Australia. His field work was funded by the National Science Foundation, the University of California at Berkeley, and the Australian National University.

Doug was a kind and gentle soul. He lived a simple life and was happiest being in nature. The class extends sympathies to his mother, siblings, nieces, and nephews, as well as Emily Schuette Schaefer ’86, who was married to him through 1995.