Denny Shaffer died Tuesday morning June 23, 2015 after a fight with cancer, surrounded by his family. He leaves behind his wife of 31 years Kim Martin Shaffer, his daughter Francesca Shaffer of Boone, NC, son David Shaffer of Fayetteville, son Rob Shaffer and daughter in law Cathy Shaffer of Westfield, NJ. He was preceded in his death by his first wife Betty, who died in 1972. In addition he leaves behind a large and wonderful extended family of friends who loved him dearly. Denny also leaves a remarkable legacy of integrity and service to the world around him. He was an advocate for the mentally challenged, equal rights for minorities and women and medical services for the poor. Perhaps most significantly Denny was a brilliant, tireless and influential leader in the environmental movement for over forty years. He was instrumental in helping to establish and expand services to the mentally challenged at the old Hillsboro School and raised funds and built support for what ultimately became the Dorothy Spainhour Children's Center. As an outspoken critic of "separate but equal" he refused to comply with Jim Crow customs of the times, treating both customers and employees with respect, regardless of their race or color, and refusing to install "whites only" bathrooms in his businesses. He was a founder of the Peoples Clinic, a free medical clinic for those who could not afford to see a doctor any other way. He helped write the one of the original fund raising letters for the The Women's Center of Fayetteville now known as The Center for Economic Empowerment & Development. He joined the Sierra Club in 1968 and over the next thirty years held virtually every leadership position in the organization, ultimately becoming the national president. He combined a rare combination of skills in his work there: The pragmatism and bottom line mentality of a business owner and the ability to inspire and motivate others with his writing and speaking. Visitation will be at Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home Saturday June 27 from 6-8 pm. The family invites all to a celebration of Denny's life and love for him to be held 11:00 am Sunday at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden. In lieu of flowers the family asked that contributions be made to the North Carolina Justice Center, the Center For Economic Empowerment and Development or the Sommocolonia WWII museum. Information about all three charities will be available at the services on Sunday.