Ed Schellenberg was simply a tradesman trapped at the wrong place at the wrong time when he was murdered inside a Whalley condominium in 2007.
But a $20,000 endowment in his name ensures the legacy of the Surrey Six victim, one of two innocent bystanders caught in a gang-related attack, will continue on for students studying trades at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
On Feb. 7, organizers behind five golf tournaments honouring Schellenberg, a gasfitter and an avid hiker, presented a cheque for the donation at KPU’s Cloverdale campus, which serves as the home base for students studying trades.
Schellenberg’s widow, Lois, was on hand for the ceremony.
“He was a good guy and what happened shouldn’t have happened,” she said.
“This doesn’t take it away but this gives an opportunity…for other people to make some good life choices, and get some education, get a career and hopefully not revert to ‘easy money.’”
A $1,000 endowment will be awarded to an eligible student as he or she winds up their studies and need to invest in tools or cover their schooling costs.
“The money will soon be spent on tuition and those other sorts of things, but they’ll have that on their CV or resume,” said KPU chief advancement officer Jeff Norris, who accepted the cheque from tournament organizers Brian White and Kevin Ford.
“You (will) certainly see that pop up for students 20 or 30 years down the road, where they can say they were the winner of the Ed Schellenberg award.”
At the ceremony, appliance service technology instructor Tom Westgate told Lois there are students who travel on as many as four buses a day just to make it to class and keep up with their studies.
“This will really be a blessing to them.”
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