"Krazy" Jim Shafer (July 31, 1925 - Jan. 23, 2004) was founder of Blimpy Burger - "cheaper than food".
Obituary
James Raymond Shafer
James Raymond Shafer, age 78, of Brooklyn died on Friday, Jan. 23, 2004 at W.A. Foote Memorial Hospital in Jackson. Jim was born to Ray and Maude Shafer on July 31, 1925 in Jackson.
He was the owner of Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger in Ann Arbor, was a member of the Knights of Columbus and served in World War II in the European and American theaters. Jim was greatly loved and will be missed by his family and many friends.
He is survived by his loving wife, Patricia Shafer who he married on Jan. 13, 1983. Also surviving are his step children, Henry (Patrice Power) Pohl, Ernest (Dolly) Pohl, Lawrence (Carla) Pohl, Thomas (Cheryl) Pohl, Mary (David Balestrieri, Theresa (John) Wells and Bernadette Johnson; his step grandchildren, Preston and Christopher Pohl, Nino and Jennifer Balestrieri, Josie and John Wells, Jamie and Justin Pohl, Jesse and Jason Johnson and Carter Pohl; his sister, Annabel (Burdette) Andrews; his nephews, Dan and Jonathan Andrews; and his niece, Judith Andrews. He was preceded in death by his brother, Don Shafer; and his nephew, Don Andrews.
A mass of Christian burial will be held at St. Mary Catholic Church in Manchester on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. The family will be receiving friends at Borek Jennings Funeral Home, Jenter Chapel in Manchester on Tuesday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. Memorials are suggested to Right to Life of Michigan.
Additional research notes
from the Ann Arbor District Library reference desk...
We have indexed, rather than clipped, the Ann Arbor News since January, 2004.
In the index there are listings on the death of James Shafer: January 25, 2004, page A-1 and B-7; January 26, 2004, page B-4; and January 27, 2004, page B-4. The first one is an article about his death. The others are probably the same death notice that appeared on different dates.
You would need to look up the newspaper on microfilm to see the articles.
In our Restaurants clipping file from the Ann Arbor News and Ann Arbor Observer there is an article from the September 1990 Observer on Jim Schafer (spelling is different from the spelling from the 2004 Ann Arbor News articles). The article is titled "Krazy Jim Schafer, master of 245,000 hamburger variations, is stepping out after 38 years in business". The article has some biographical information.
Please ask at the Reference Desk for the newspaper clipping file on Restaurants for the 1990.
Hope this information helps.
