she look like? ... Old-fashioned hairdo; long dress ... If I lose or win – whatever I do – I'm gonna send her some Style magazines." His campaign called a press conference, but he failed to show. Owens commented that perhaps Schaefer had become too old to run, saying that running against him was like a granddaughter "taking the keys away from grandpa." In response, Schaefer and his campaign hinted that Owens was lashing out at him in an act of age discrimination. One viewer wrote in, suggesting that perhaps Schaefer was showing signs of dementia. The anchor responded that the caller had pointed out "the elephant in the room" that, until then, the media was hesitant to suggest. Schaefer refused to apologize for his comments regarding Owens' appearance, saying, "An apology? An apology for what? I can't help it how she looks." Asked about his heated exchanges with Owens, Schaefer said, "This was started not by me." He added, "There's dirty politics, and then there's filthy politics." On September 12, during the Democratic primary election, Schaefer was pushed into third place behind Franchot and Owens, with Franchot winning the primary by 15,000 votes over Owens. The tight three-way race saw Franchot winning the Washington, D.C., suburbs (Montgomery County and Prince George's County), Owens winning in Central Maryland (Howard County and Anne Arundel County), and Schaefer holding his own in the Baltimore metro area (Baltimore City and Baltimore County). This was Schaefer's first campaign loss since 1954. Schaefer's last day at work as Comptroller was January 19, 2007. He was succeeded on January 22 by Franchot, who won the general election, and was not present for Franchot's swearing in. After retiring, he moved into the Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville, Maryland. His health declined quickly and he made few public appearances in his final years. Death Schaefer died at the age of 89 on April 18, 2011, at his latest home in Catonsville. He had recently been hospitalized due to pneumonia at St. Agnes Hospital in southwest Baltimore and was receiving hospice care at the time of his death. During his governorship, Schaefer had switched his membership from his longtime church, Cummins Memorial, to Old St. Paul's Episcopal Church, the oldest church in Baltimore, founded 1692. His funeral now took place at Old St. Paul's, and Schaefer was buried at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens near Towson in suburban Baltimore County.