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Octogenarian Retired Municipal Judge On Whidbey Island Pursues His Musical Dreams

David Welton
/
Whidbey Life Magazine
Larry Shafer accompanied by bassist Kristi O'Donnell

As children, we all have big dreams of what we’ll do with our lives, maybe become a famous painter or an astronaut. But many of us wind up pursuing something more practical, and then it can take a lot of guts to resurrect those childhood dreams later on.

But that's exactly what 82-year-old Larry Shafer has done. After a long legal career as a trial lawyer and municipal court judge, the Whidbey Island resident has spent the past five years reconnecting with his love of music. 

Shafer was born in 1934 and grew up in poverty in California towns that were still mired in the Great Depression. He spent many years with foster parents. His own mom and dad, who both struggled with alcohol abuse, drifted in and out of his life.

But music always brought him joy. Shafer recalled one day when he was tending his Victory Garden during World War II and his foster mother overheard him singing.

"She said, `Larry, you have a beautiful voice,'" Shafer said with a laugh. "`You can really sing.'"

Reviving His Musical Dreams

She encouraged him to join the church choir but he wasn’t that keen on church. He later sang in high school and during a stint in the army, but music fell by the wayside once he entered law.

After he retired, Shafer said that one day a thought popped into his head.

"I wonder if I really can sing or if I just thought that I could," he said. "So I thought, `Maybe I can just make a CD."

He began singing lessons with vocalist Nancy Nolan and started performing in gigs with Whidbey Island musicians including bassist Kristi O'Donnell and guitarist Keith Bowers. And last year, at age 81, he made that CD he had dreamed of.

It's an homage to what he calls the 20th century songbook, including pop standards by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, such as "Deed I Do" and "Come Fly With Me." 

Shafer suffered a stroke in February and is still recovering, but even now, he’s making time to sing.

He'll perform Friday, Apr. 8, at Ott and Murphy Winery in Langley with the band CaféImpromptu, which includes Trio Nouveau guitarists Keith Bowers and Troy Chapman as well as bassist Kristi O'Donnell.

In July 2017, Ashley Gross became KNKX's youth and education reporter after years of covering the business and labor beat. She joined the station in May 2012 and previously worked five years at WBEZ in Chicago, where she reported on business and the economy. Her work telling the human side of the mortgage crisis garnered awards from the Illinois Associated Press and the Chicago Headline Club. She's also reported for the Alaska Public Radio Network in Anchorage and for Bloomberg News in San Francisco.