Randy and Diane Shada were so proud of their son, Michael.
At 25, he’d already achieved a lot in life.
He was a good student at Wahoo High School and had earned all-state honors in football. He had a successful basketball career at high school and went to state in three track events. He was a walk-on player for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. After college, he took the very tough Series 7 test -- and passed it on the first try to become a stock broker.
“We were tickled to death,” Randy Shada said. “He got the highest score.”
Michael loved his job at TD AmeriTrade in Omaha and while Wednesdays normally were his day off, he readily agreed to take Thursday off instead, after being asked to switch days that week.
Family members didn’t know he was on his way to work that morning of Sept. 30.
Shada, a retired Wahoo High School teacher, had just finished shampooing his basement carpets and was sitting at the kitchen table when the doorbell rang.
It was 9:30 a.m.
Saunders County Sheriff Kevin Stukenholtz and the Rev. Charles Townsend were at the door. Shada had known these men for years. Stukenholtz’s wife, Judy, and Shada are cousins. Townsend is the family’s priest. They are good friends.
But this wasn’t a social visit.
“I saw who it was and my heart just left me,” Shada said. “Kevin asked if I’d talked to everyone to see if they got to work on time.
“The only one I hadn’t talked to was Michael.”
Normally, Shada spoke with Michael as the young man headed to work. But that morning, Michael hadn’t used his phone.
“Just tell me why you’re here,” Shada told the men. “I know it’s not good.”
The three went into the living room, where Stukenholtz broke the news: Michael was in a two-vehicle accident.
And he didn’t make it.
Shada learned his son — talented and full of life — had died instantly.
“At least you know he didn’t suffer,” Shada said quietly.
The men sat with Shada for a half hour. Townsend went to get Diane, a para educator at Cedar Bluffs Elementary School.
Shada spent the next few hours gathering other family members: a son, Alex, and a daughter, Marla, their spouses and children; daughter, Rachael, a college student; and Michael’s fiancée, Emily, and their son, Josyah, 2 1/2.
Michael and Emily and their little boy had lived with the Shadas for eight months. The couple planned to marry in June.
Just 1 1/2 weeks before the accident, Michael and Emily had rented their own apartment.
“We’d had a lot of plans,” Shada said.
By late that fall afternoon, everyone was gathered at the Shadas’ home.
More family and friends began dropping by. Shada estimates at least 400 people came that night. And that same number the next day.
He still appreciates that.
“It was overwhelming,” he said. “When a tragedy happens, you’ve got to have support from family and friends.”
Mourners packed St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church during the viewing and rosary. An estimated 1,050 people attended the funeral at Wahoo High School.
“He had a great sendoff,” Shada said. “...We had a great boy.”
These days, Shada finds it comforting to hear people’s stories about Michael.
“He lived his life to the fullest. He lived every day like it was his last. What he did in 25 years, most people take 60 or 70 years to do,” Shada said.
Michael enjoyed hunting and fishing.
“He thought he could build anything,” Shada said. “He was always going to build us a house.”
Michael enjoyed spending time with his son. When he got off work, he’d take Josyah to the park.
“He keeps waiting for his dad to come pick him up and take him to the park,” Shada said. “Dad would take him to Chuck E. Cheese’s fairly often on the weekends. Now we’ve got to try to fill that void.”
Some things bring the child comfort.
“We have pictures (of Michael) all over the house. Josyah likes to sit and look at the pictures. That helps Josyah quite a bit,” Shada said. “As he gets older, he’ll be able to understand things a little better. Now, his life is a blur and we don’t have a lot of answers.”
Sometimes it all seems like a bad dream that Shada wishes he could wake up from.
But he knows that won’t happen.
“You might have a great day and then in five minutes you’re numb and you just can’t do a thing,” he said.
Halloween, normally a favorite holiday, was terrible this year. The Shadas will host Thanksgiving at their home, but Shada knows it won’t be the same.
He does, however, look forward to a new support group called, Healing Hands, that Wahoo resident Sandi Massie and he are forming. The first meeting is Thursday. The group is designed for parents who’ve lost a child and adult (age 18 or older) siblings.
“This is going to be great for everybody,” he said.
It will be a time when parents can share memories of children lost, but still loved.
Of children, like Michael.
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