Today I found out that Frank Schruis passed away last Thursday. As I'm writing this article, he will be burried in Clymer, NY. Frank Schruis was a well-known genealogist whom I met in 1997 when I visited Clymer.
Frank Schruis was a descendant of Jan Hendrik Schreurs and Janna Geertruid Oonk. They were one of many families that emigrated from Winterswijk to Clymer. What made them special is that an account of their lives was written by their son. Because of this, we know a lot more about this family than we usually do.
Just last week, I wrote an article about this couple for this website that includes this account. I thought about Frank Schruis then and wanted to let him know about it. We hadn't been in touch so I didn't have his e-mail address. Today I got an e-mail from another distant cousin, Jerry Matthews, informing me of Frank's death. It's quite a coincedence that I had just thought about him last week and now he's gone. I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to get in touch again and wish his family strength to deal with their loss.
