Chris Verros has been reminded many times in recent days that his daughter, Gina, ‘touched so many lives.?
The 17-year-old Independence Township resident died in a Sunday, June 13 car crash, but friends from all directions have offered words ? and actions ? to honor her memory.
Fellow soccer players and Girl Scouts wore their uniforms to the funeral service, and the elder Verros has received many hand-written letters from those who knew and appreciated her.
Gina was ‘a sweet person who always thought about others,? her father said. She reminded him of her mother, Kathleen, who died of cancer Aug. 16, 2003.
Chris Verros and the rest of the family are coping with their second tragic loss in less than a year by remembering the joy of Gina’s life.
Just completing her junior year at Clarkston High School, Gina Verros was an active Girl Scout, having been chosen to serve in the Governor’s Honor Guard at Mackinac Island. She was to have traveled there for rehearsal for those special duties this past weekend.
Gina was also a faithful worker at Clarkston Christian School and Child Care Center. She played goalie for the Michigan Gators soccer team and played French horn in the CHS Marching Band.
Active in the Greek Orthodox Church, Chris Verros remembers a priest’s message from several years ago aimed at another family facing tragedy, and Verros has altered that message to apply to his situation.
‘I had the best 17 years a father could ever have,? he said.
According to reports from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department, Gina Verros was driving westbound on Clarkston Road when she lost control of her vehicle while negotiating a curve.
The Pontiac Grand Prix swerved into the path of an eastbound Chrysler Voyager driven by a 26-year-old Clarkston resident.
The second driver was taken to the POH Medical Center Clarkston Campus with minor injuries.
Investigators said both drivers were wearing seatbelts and did not believe alcohol was a factor in the crash.