The Other Jeff Schrock

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MVP announced that I joined as a venture partner last week.  It got some press which resulted in a number of calls and emails from long lost friends, which is always nice.  The last time “my” name was in the press, however, it wasn’t so nice.

 Two years ago, a man named Jeff Schrock, age 38, was severely injured and his five children were killed in a head-on collision near Spokane, the city in which I grew up.  Because of our shared and somewhat unique name, similar age and common geography, a number of people who knew me thought this horrific tragedy was mine.  They reached out to my parents, my siblings and even to me.  This sad confusion happened one other time as well.

 This creates a odd emotion (which I’m sure the more eloquent have memorialized as a word) I can only describe as a combination of sympathy and reflection.  I’m not related to and I didn’t know these other Jeff Schrocks but I feel badly about their and their family’s loss.  Maybe, this has happened to others you know as well?

I’m glad to share a touching update in the story of the Other Jeff Schrock.  He was survived by with his wife Carolyn, who was not in the vehicle at the time of the crash, and their unborn child (she is now 2) who are members of the Mennonite religion.  In an all too uncommon act of forgiveness, they are supporting the man who drove the vehicle which crashed into their family.  He is accused of vehicular homicide and they are sitting with him during his trial.  Evidently, they also supported him while he recovered from his injuries.  I find this incredibly brave.  I don’t think everyone can bring themselves to this level of reconciliation but I think the world would be a better place if more people tried.  I’m in awe of the Other Schrocks today.

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