LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Cory Edwin Schaefers grew up in Upper Lake, California. He was always doing something fun, from riding dirt bikes to being out on the lake.

As a kid, he fished with his friends and family and ran paper routes with his dad. He wrestled, played baseball and football at Upper Lake High, Class of ’99. Cory never missed a day of school from kindergarten through graduation.

After graduation, he went to Chico State with his closest friends. When his dad passed away, Cory took over Schaefers Distributing, running newspaper deliveries across Lake and Mendocino counties, keeping the family business alive.

Eventually, he met Kara, and together they built a life full of love, humor, family and friends. In recent years, he started hauling materials with his own truck — waking up before the sun and downing strong coffee. He was always up for family camping trips at the lake or in the mountains.

He was most proud of being a husband and a father. Kara, Aimee, Dan and Addi were the heart of his world. He liked to be known as Captain Daddy and made sure everyone else knew it.

Cory had a way of making people feel at ease with his jokes, eye rolls, quick zingers and loud laugh. He was a big teddy bear who could turn a hug into a live-or-die wrestling match or game of mercy. He loved sports, especially the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco Giants and fantasy football.

His love language was making fun of you. He had a way of making everyone laugh, even when it was at their own expense, and a way of showing up that made people feel like they mattered. As his closest friends would put it: he wasn’t just a good friend — he was everyone’s best friend.

Cory passed away on May 15, 2025, at his home in Upper Lake.

He was preceded in death by his father, Daniel; uncle, Bernie; cousin, Ryan; niece, Charlotte; grandparents, Bernard, Marcella, Marlowe and Treva; and sisters-in-laws, Gina and Melanie.

He is survived by his wife, Kara, and their three children, Aimee, Daniel and Addison; his mother, Barbara; siblings, Marci (Phil), Eric, Scott (Nancy) and Stacey; nieces and nephews, Morgan (Vanessa, Jaide, Emmitt), Emily, Joshua, Christel (Michael) and Brandon; his aunt, Marlene; and cousin, Katherine.

Friends and family can pay their respects at the remembrance celebration on Saturday, May 24, at 3 p.m., at Medina’s Watering Hole, 3272 Scott’s Valley Road, Lakeport.

Arrangements by Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary, 707-263-0357 or 707-994-5611, or visit www.chapelofthelakes.com.