Benedictine College to Honor Schaefers with Family Award

Published: Friday, October 02, 2015

Benedictine College is proud to announce the recipients of the 2015 Family Award; the Jim and Rosie Schaefer Family. Each year, the College honors a family that has truly lived out the Benedictine mission through their involvement on the campus and their commitment to building a fruitful and supportive community in the Benedictine tradition. The entire Schaefer Family has always been very supportive of the college and will be recognized in Wilcox Stadium during halftime of the 11:00 a.m. football game on October 10, 2015.

Jim and Rosie Schaefer sent four of their five children to Benedictine, including Joseph ’84, Carla Schaefer Dovey ’85, Pam Schaefer Kramer ’88, who married fellow alumnus Kevin Kramer ’89, and Susie Schaefer Hinds ’91. Their oldest son, Patrick, also sent his daughters, Elaina Schaefer Sedlacek ’08, and Michelle Schaefer Smith-Vandergriff ’07, who married fellow-Raven Mark Smith-Vandergriff ’08, to Benedictine College. In addition, Rosie Schaefer’s nieces, Kristen Bexten ’93 and Sister Mary Mediatrix Bexten, F.S.G.M. ’97, are also Benedictine College graduates.

Jim and Rosie were known as the “Raven Host Family” in their hometown of Jefferson City, Mo. They would invite entire Raven football teams over to their home for dinner when the team was playing on the road at nearby Lincoln University. The couple would also hold recruitment parties for potential students and their families.

After Jim passed away in 1991, Rosie and the children were instrumental in helping organize the local Mid-Mo Raven Alumni Club and would host summer send-off picnics for the families of new students from their area who would be attending Benedictine College in the fall. The family also helped the club create a Mid-Mo Raven Scholarship to be awarded to local students. They often followed this up with care packages to the new students once they arrived in Atchison, letting them know the Raven alumni from their home area were thinking of them.

Though they never attended Benedictine College, Jim and Rosie’s support was so strong they received the first Benedictine College Honorary Alumni Award in 1992. The children have all continued that support. Their daughter, Pam, has served on the Benedictine College Board of Directors and was honored with the 2009 Offeramus Medal. Susie went on to establish The Schaefer House Home Furnishings in downtown Jefferson City and her success as president and CEO of that company brought her to the Benedictine College School of Business for the Cray Lecture in 2010. Joe, who played football while at Benedictine, has maintained a leadership position with the Mid-Mo Ravens and gives monthly to the college. Carla began giving back to the college very early in her career and was part of the Class of ’85 gift that renovated the renowned Raven Walk. And Patrick, the only child who did not attend Benedictine, picked up the tradition by sending his two daughters to the college.

And now, the children have found a way to continue to support the Raven student body as well as honor the sacrifices their parents made to educate them. They have established a new endowed scholarship in their parents’ name. The new Jim and Rosie Schaefer Family Scholarship will be created on October 10, 2015, and will be announced at the football game that afternoon.

Founded in 1858, Benedictine College is a Catholic, Benedictine, residential, liberal arts college located on the bluffs above the Missouri River in Atchison, Kansas.  The school is proud to have been named one of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report as well as one of the top Catholic colleges in the nation by First Things magazine and the Newman Guide.  It prides itself on outstanding academics, extraordinary faith life, strong athletic programs, and an exceptional sense of community and belonging.  It has a mission to educate men and women within a community of faith and scholarship.

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