A new Kwantlen Polytechnic University scholarship is named for Ed Schellenberg, the gasfitter murdered by gang members in a Surrey highrise in 2007.
The appliance program runs at the Cloverdale technology and trades campus.
The Ed Schellenberg Memorial Endowed Scholarship was created through a $20,000 donation raised during five memorial golf tournaments. The endowment will fund an annual $1,000 scholarship for a student enrolled in KPU’s appliance servicing program who is passionate about giving to others as Schellenberg was.
“Ed was a kind, quiet, humble and hard-working man,†said brother-in-law Steve Brown, who also worked with Schellenberg at Brown’s company, Service Only.
Schellenberg was an innocent victim of the Surrey Six murders. He had been servicing a fireplace on the top floor of a Surrey highrise on Oct. 19, 2007 when he was fatally shot.
Schellenberg was an exceptional gasfitter, said Brown, and his talent generated hundreds of repeat customers and referrals. He excelled at troubleshooting, and where Brown often lost patience, Schellenberg persisted until he isolated and fixed the problem.
Brown said Schellenberg had a soft spot for the company’s elderly customers, regardless of whether they could pay for his services: He did the work, but it didn’t end up on any bill. “He just did the work anyway – that was his style.â€
Schellenberg was also devoted to his family and treasured all the time he spent with them. He loved the outdoors and was an avid hiker, hunter and fisherman who also dabbled in photography. The Schellenbergs were also active in their church.
Asked what Schellenberg might have said to recipients of the scholarship in his name, Brown said he would probably have urged students to make the most of their training and the opportunity for a successful career.
The endowment was made possible through several memorial golf tournaments organized by Kevin Ford, whose company Coast Gas Fireplace Repair worked closely with Schellenberg and Brown, and Brian White, a local realtor who didn’t actually know Schellenberg, but was moved by the tragedy.