A Virginia father and his young homeschooled daughter, on a spiritual retreat in Mumbai, India, were killed Wednesday in the terrorist attacks there.
In an article for the Washington Post titled “Virginians Killed in Attacks Lived Out Peaceful Ideals,” the Post writers detailed the Scherr family’s involvement with a peaceful community in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains and noted:
“[Alan] Scherr’s life with the spiritual community led him and his 13-year-old daughter, Naomi, on a pilgrimage to India, where they were gunned down Wednesday as they ate a late dinner at a hotel in Mumbai. The 58-year-old former University of Maryland professor and his daughter were among five known Americans killed in the terrorist attacks that rocked India.”
As the friend who alerted me wrote, “The tragedy remains the same, but the ‘small worldness’ of someone who shares some of life’s choices with us makes it feel that much more personal.”
Other blogs and sites following this tragedy:
Digital Journal: Naomi had planned to use her experience in India in an essay for a scholarship application to Emma Willard School in Troy, New York.
WAVY TV, Smithfield, VA: Garvey remembered Alan as someone committed to making a positive difference in the world. She spoke of Naomi as a bright, lively young woman. She explained Naomi completed the 8th grade a year early through a home-school program.
Garvey said Kia Sherr, Alan’s wife and Naomi’s mother is with family in Florida. Garvey said, “She is in mourning. She’s grieving. She goes in and out of periods speaking and non-speaking. She’s a mother… and a wife.”
I’ll update this post as more news links become available.
Helen
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david