Schrock, Carinna (1997-2005)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2005 Nov 14 p. 1

Birth date: 2000

text of obituary:

Crash in Washington claims lives of 5 siblings

By Robert Rhodes

Mennonite Weekly Review

SPOKANE, Wash. — Five children from a conservative Mennonite family died in a head-on crash on a Washington highway Nov. 1, galvanizing their close-knit community with grief as they sough comfort in their faith.

Meanwhile, the mother of the five children, who was not in the accident, is only weeks away from giving birth to another child.

According to news reports, the children were southbound in an extended cab pickup driven on U.S. 395 by their father, Jeff Schrock, 38, of Chewelah. A northbound vehicle, driven by Clifford Helm of Deer Park, crossed the grassy median and collided with the Schrock vehicle.

Pronounced dead at the scene were Schrock children Carmen, 12; Jana, 10; Corina, 8; Jerrill, 5; and Creig, 2. All were wearing safety belts, according to investigators.

Helm, who police said had several traffic infractions on his record, also was hospitalized with less serious injuries. Alcohol and drugs were not believed to be factors in the crash.

Reports said Jeff Schrock's wife, Carolyn, had gone shopping in Spokane and that the family was on their way to meet her when the accident occurred around 4:20 p.m. Carolyn Schrock, who is eight months pregnant, was taken to the hospital after the crash, where she learned her children had been killed.

The Schrocks are members of the Pine Grove Mennonite Church in Chewelah, a congregation in the independent Western Conservative Fellowship. They moved to Washington state in 1997 from another congregation near Eugene, ore.

Jeff Schrock runs a furniture-making business near Chewelah.

Members of the Schrocks' church, meanwhile, were preparing for the children's funeral, which was to be held Nov. 7. More than 800 people were expected to attend.

Though church members were heartbroken over the family's tragedy, some said they were relying on their faith to bring hope to an otherwise grim situation.

They also expressed forgiveness and concern for Helm, the driver of the other vehicle.

On Nov. 2, the Schrock family released a statement about the tragedy, thanking their friends and emergency personnel who responded to the crash, which authorities said was the worst in memory in the Spokane region.

"Your prayers and expressions of love have been a wonderful support to us," the statement said. "We thank God for his l9ove and unlimited grace and strength sustaining us. 'He hath loved thee with an everlasting love' (Jer. 31;3). And 'Underneath are the everlasting arms' (Deut. 33:27).

"Yet even while we struggle to understand and cope with the pain and magnitude of our own loss, our hearts go out in compassion for the driver of the other vehicle and his family. We pray that god's physical, emotional, and spiritual healing power be evident in their lives."

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2005 Nov 21 p. 1