This has been an incredibly difficult year for the Schraugers. Cliff lost his job, his house and one of his oldest sons, a specialist in the U.S. Army, suffered life-threatening injuries on Father's Day while serving in Iraq. He is still recovering in a military hospital in Texas. But the Schraugers' grief would soon be compounded, reaching the very depths of their souls.

On September 29, while in Texas caring for his injured son David, Cliff got the telephone call that every parent of a teen-aged driver dreads. "There's been an accident," he was told. The couple's youngest sons, Joshua, 17, and Timothy, 14, were dead, killed in a car crash at an intersection in rural mid-Michigan. Joshua, the driver, somehow missed a stop sign.

The boys, both students at Lake Orion High School, were to meet friends at an annual party held for the past 26 years at a sesquicentennial farm in Clinton County. They died at the accident scene, six miles from the party.

"These were two of the most respectful kids you ever met," said Rev. Tom Hampton, the family's pastor at Community Bible Church in Waterford. "They knew how to treat people with respect and honor. They looked you in the eye, they listened carefully and they were cheerful as all get-out."

Cliff described the couple's five children as "dream kids' for a parent.

"Timothy and Josh both had a wonderful sense of humor, they were adventurous," he said. "Josh just got a letter from the governor congratulating him on his academic achievements. And Tim was doing so well. I was so proud of these boys. I stood over their caskets and said, 'I'm so proud of you.' I know they loved their dad and I know their dad loved them. It was the same for their mom too. They respected and honored us."

Since the accident, the community has embraced the Schraugers, holding fundraisers and making donations to their Waterford church for them.



Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, with the help of local businesses and concerned citizens, has undertaken a massive project to relieve the family of one burden - a place to live. Under Patterson's leadership, a new home is being constructed for the family through community donations. No public money is being used for the project.

Patterson, who did not know the family, met them for the first time at the funeral home. He felt compelled to offer his condolences because of the loss this year of his own son, Brooks Stuart Patterson, who died in a snowmobile accident in February.

"Given my personal loss, I can understand the grief this family is going through," Patterson said. "And they must still care for a third son, who was seriously injured. This is more tragedy than any one family should have to bear."

Patterson said he hopes to get the family into the home within six months. The effort (referred to as the "Schrauger Home Project") was officially launched October 30, 2007, and is presently gathering donations of building supplies and skilled labor.

Cliff is humbled by the effort for his family, although he isn't certain how to thank everyone. "I'll take any suggestions you have because 'thanks' does not quite cut it," he said. "We are awestruck, overwhelmed by the love and generosity of the people we don't know. This has brought us to tears. An unemployed janitor wrote me a note and gave us a few dollars. He said I'd like to donate more. It just made me cry. It was like a million bucks, and he doesn't even know us. Thanks seem like a cheap way to say it. I want to hug them all."

Find out how you can help.

View the service and supply registry.

The Schrauger Family Prayer Site.