Obituary of Jean-Pierre Schonfeld

On June 24, 2022, Jean Pierre Schonfeld left this world surrounded by his loving family. He was 76 years old and resided in Simpsonville, SC, with his wife of almost 50 years, Deborah. Jean Pierre’s life is an immigrant’s tale. He was born on October 4, 1945, in Sibiu, Romania, to a Jewish father and Christian mother during the tumultuous times that followed in the aftermath of WWII. In his late teens, Jean Pierre, his younger brother Andre, and his parents were able to secure safe passage to Italy to leave behind a Communist regime that proved to be particularly oppressive on the family. The Schonfeld family eventually made their way to the United States where they initially resided in Maryland. Jean Pierre graduated from the University of Maryland in 1971 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. While working in Michigan, Jean Pierre met Deborah Goodwin, a South Carolina native. Shortly thereafter, they decided to never be apart, so they married in 1973. A lengthy career as an engineer with companies like Motorola and IBM took Jean Pierre (called “Peter” by his co-workers) and his young family all over the north and southeastern states, including New York, Connecticut, Virginia, Florida, Louisiana and Texas before making their way back to the South Carolina upstate. Jean Pierre was a member of Golden Strip Church of Christ in Simpsonville, SC. Jean Pierre is survived by his wife Deborah, sons Bryan, Matthew and Mark, daughters-in-law Brooke Hudson Schonfeld and Leah Still Schonfeld, grandchildren Emerson, Callahan and Carter, his brother Andre Schonfeld of Toronto, Ontario, and his wife Andra and their daughter Gloria, and cousin Astrid Lienenkaemper of Germany. Through his wife, Jean Pierre is survived by several brothers and sisters-in-law whom he loved very much. Jean Pierre’s family and loved ones will hold a celebration of his life on July 2, 2022. The family requests those who wish to express sympathy to consider making a monetary donation in memory of Jean Pierre Schonfeld to Eastern European Mission, PO Box 55245, Hurst, TX 76054 www.eem.org.