Rudolph J. Schaefer - the brewer and yachtsman who ran one of the country's largest and most famous regional breweries for 42 years while also supporting the American tradition of yachthing - died yesterday at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center after a brief illness. He was 82 years old.
Mr. Schaefer was well known for his stewardship of the family beer business, the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company of Brooklyn, from the depression and prohibition to the hectic competition of the late 1960's.
A Figure in 2 Worlds
But ''Commodore Ruddy,'' as the Larchmont Yacht Club designated him, was at least as important in the world of ships that sail on the winds as he was in the world of palates that lived on good beer.
Mr. Schaefer took over the family brewery in 1927 and began planing for the end of prohibition. In 1934, a year after the country became wet again, his three week old racing yatch, ''Edlu,'' won the 650-mile Newport-to-Bermuda race.
During his captaincy, Mr. Schaefer built the New York brewery into the nation's sixth largest and help support the United States retention of the America's Cup and the rebuilding of Mystic (Conn.) Seaport.
Rudolph Jay Schaefer 2d was born in Larchmont, N.Y., on July 9, 1900. He was the son of Rudolph J. Schaefer, the head of the brewery which his grandfather, Maximilian, and his grand uncle, Frederick, had founded on Sept. 1, 1842, six years after ariving from Germany.
Took Grandfather's Advice
His earliest lessons in brewing came from his grandfather. He said: ''When I was a youngester, grandfather said to me one day, 'Rudy, you can have the best grain and the finest hops and the best yeast, but if you want to make real good beer you've got to have people who know their business and who want to make the best beer in the world.' ''
Because he always followed this advice, Mr. Schaefer said in 1952, the brewery had grown. Following his graduation as an architectural major at Princeton University in 1924, Mr. Schaefer joined the brewery which began on 19th Street in Manhattan and then moved to Park Avenue before arriving in Brooklyn in 1915.
Mr. Schaefer became president in 1927. And with Repeal in 1933, he began rebuilding the brewery and expanding the image and consumption of beer.
To this end, he even clashed with Mayor-elect F.H. LaGuardia in 1933 when Mr. Schaefer opposed city-owned beer gardens as good ideas '' for spacious living'' that nevertheless jeopardized ''the investment made by many thousands of peoples in retail beer establishments.''
Mr. Schaefer headed the brewery until 1969 when he was succeeded by his son. And the brewery remained independent until August 1981, when it was taken over by the Stroh Brewery Company of Detroit.
Mr. Schaefer is survived by his second wife, the former Janet Udall of Valley Stream, L.I.; his sons, Rudolph J. 3d and William M.; his daughters, Edmee Coombs and Lucy Peterson; and grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at 11:30 A.M., Sept. 7, at St. Johns Episcopal Church, Larchmont. The burial will be private.
Mr. Schaefer was well known for his stewardship of the family beer business, the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company of Brooklyn, from the depression and prohibition to the hectic competition of the late 1960's.
A Figure in 2 Worlds
But ''Commodore Ruddy,'' as the Larchmont Yacht Club designated him, was at least as important in the world of ships that sail on the winds as he was in the world of palates that lived on good beer.
Mr. Schaefer took over the family brewery in 1927 and began planing for the end of prohibition. In 1934, a year after the country became wet again, his three week old racing yatch, ''Edlu,'' won the 650-mile Newport-to-Bermuda race.
During his captaincy, Mr. Schaefer built the New York brewery into the nation's sixth largest and help support the United States retention of the America's Cup and the rebuilding of Mystic (Conn.) Seaport.
Rudolph Jay Schaefer 2d was born in Larchmont, N.Y., on July 9, 1900. He was the son of Rudolph J. Schaefer, the head of the brewery which his grandfather, Maximilian, and his grand uncle, Frederick, had founded on Sept. 1, 1842, six years after ariving from Germany.
Took Grandfather's Advice
His earliest lessons in brewing came from his grandfather. He said: ''When I was a youngester, grandfather said to me one day, 'Rudy, you can have the best grain and the finest hops and the best yeast, but if you want to make real good beer you've got to have people who know their business and who want to make the best beer in the world.' ''
Because he always followed this advice, Mr. Schaefer said in 1952, the brewery had grown. Following his graduation as an architectural major at Princeton University in 1924, Mr. Schaefer joined the brewery which began on 19th Street in Manhattan and then moved to Park Avenue before arriving in Brooklyn in 1915.
Mr. Schaefer became president in 1927. And with Repeal in 1933, he began rebuilding the brewery and expanding the image and consumption of beer.
To this end, he even clashed with Mayor-elect F.H. LaGuardia in 1933 when Mr. Schaefer opposed city-owned beer gardens as good ideas '' for spacious living'' that nevertheless jeopardized ''the investment made by many thousands of peoples in retail beer establishments.''
Mr. Schaefer headed the brewery until 1969 when he was succeeded by his son. And the brewery remained independent until August 1981, when it was taken over by the Stroh Brewery Company of Detroit.
Mr. Schaefer is survived by his second wife, the former Janet Udall of Valley Stream, L.I.; his sons, Rudolph J. 3d and William M.; his daughters, Edmee Coombs and Lucy Peterson; and grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at 11:30 A.M., Sept. 7, at St. Johns Episcopal Church, Larchmont. The burial will be private.
Rudolph J. Schaefer - the brewer and yachtsman who ran one of the country's largest and most famous regional breweries for 42 years while also supporting the American tradition of yachthing - died yesterday at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center after a brief illness. He was 82 years old.
Mr. Schaefer was well known for his stewardship of the family beer business, the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company of Brooklyn, from the depression and prohibition to the hectic competition of the late 1960's.
A Figure in 2 Worlds
But ''Commodore Ruddy,'' as the Larchmont Yacht Club designated him, was at least as important in the world of ships that sail on the winds as he was in the world of palates that lived on good beer.
Mr. Schaefer took over the family brewery in 1927 and began planing for the end of prohibition. In 1934, a year after the country became wet again, his three week old racing yatch, ''Edlu,'' won the 650-mile Newport-to-Bermuda race.
During his captaincy, Mr. Schaefer built the New York brewery into the nation's sixth largest and help support the United States retention of the America's Cup and the rebuilding of Mystic (Conn.) Seaport.
Rudolph Jay Schaefer 2d was born in Larchmont, N.Y., on July 9, 1900. He was the son of Rudolph J. Schaefer, the head of the brewery which his grandfather, Maximilian, and his grand uncle, Frederick, had founded on Sept. 1, 1842, six years after ariving from Germany.
Took Grandfather's Advice
His earliest lessons in brewing came from his grandfather. He said: ''When I was a youngester, grandfather said to me one day, 'Rudy, you can have the best grain and the finest hops and the best yeast, but if you want to make real good beer you've got to have people who know their business and who want to make the best beer in the world.' ''
Because he always followed this advice, Mr. Schaefer said in 1952, the brewery had grown. Following his graduation as an architectural major at Princeton University in 1924, Mr. Schaefer joined the brewery which began on 19th Street in Manhattan and then moved to Park Avenue before arriving in Brooklyn in 1915.
Mr. Schaefer became president in 1927. And with Repeal in 1933, he began rebuilding the brewery and expanding the image and consumption of beer.
To this end, he even clashed with Mayor-elect F.H. LaGuardia in 1933 when Mr. Schaefer opposed city-owned beer gardens as good ideas '' for spacious living'' that nevertheless jeopardized ''the investment made by many thousands of peoples in retail beer establishments.''
Mr. Schaefer headed the brewery until 1969 when he was succeeded by his son. And the brewery remained independent until August 1981, when it was taken over by the Stroh Brewery Company of Detroit.
Mr. Schaefer is survived by his second wife, the former Janet Udall of Valley Stream, L.I.; his sons, Rudolph J. 3d and William M.; his daughters, Edmee Coombs and Lucy Peterson; and grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at 11:30 A.M., Sept. 7, at St. Johns Episcopal Church, Larchmont. The burial will be private.
Mr. Schaefer was well known for his stewardship of the family beer business, the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company of Brooklyn, from the depression and prohibition to the hectic competition of the late 1960's.
A Figure in 2 Worlds
But ''Commodore Ruddy,'' as the Larchmont Yacht Club designated him, was at least as important in the world of ships that sail on the winds as he was in the world of palates that lived on good beer.
Mr. Schaefer took over the family brewery in 1927 and began planing for the end of prohibition. In 1934, a year after the country became wet again, his three week old racing yatch, ''Edlu,'' won the 650-mile Newport-to-Bermuda race.
During his captaincy, Mr. Schaefer built the New York brewery into the nation's sixth largest and help support the United States retention of the America's Cup and the rebuilding of Mystic (Conn.) Seaport.
Rudolph Jay Schaefer 2d was born in Larchmont, N.Y., on July 9, 1900. He was the son of Rudolph J. Schaefer, the head of the brewery which his grandfather, Maximilian, and his grand uncle, Frederick, had founded on Sept. 1, 1842, six years after ariving from Germany.
Took Grandfather's Advice
His earliest lessons in brewing came from his grandfather. He said: ''When I was a youngester, grandfather said to me one day, 'Rudy, you can have the best grain and the finest hops and the best yeast, but if you want to make real good beer you've got to have people who know their business and who want to make the best beer in the world.' ''
Because he always followed this advice, Mr. Schaefer said in 1952, the brewery had grown. Following his graduation as an architectural major at Princeton University in 1924, Mr. Schaefer joined the brewery which began on 19th Street in Manhattan and then moved to Park Avenue before arriving in Brooklyn in 1915.
Mr. Schaefer became president in 1927. And with Repeal in 1933, he began rebuilding the brewery and expanding the image and consumption of beer.
To this end, he even clashed with Mayor-elect F.H. LaGuardia in 1933 when Mr. Schaefer opposed city-owned beer gardens as good ideas '' for spacious living'' that nevertheless jeopardized ''the investment made by many thousands of peoples in retail beer establishments.''
Mr. Schaefer headed the brewery until 1969 when he was succeeded by his son. And the brewery remained independent until August 1981, when it was taken over by the Stroh Brewery Company of Detroit.
Mr. Schaefer is survived by his second wife, the former Janet Udall of Valley Stream, L.I.; his sons, Rudolph J. 3d and William M.; his daughters, Edmee Coombs and Lucy Peterson; and grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at 11:30 A.M., Sept. 7, at St. Johns Episcopal Church, Larchmont. The burial will be private.
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