Kansas rancher remembers friendship of couple killed in DC collision who owned land in Oklahoma
Michael Simpson told KOCO 5 that he got to know Bob Schrock through lifting weights
By Jason Burger
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Oklahoma (KOCO) — Two of the victims of the deadly collision in Washington, D.C., have been identified as Bob and Lori Schrock, who were Kansas residents who owned property in Oklahoma.
A small-town church in northern Oklahoma made it a point to pray for the victims after a passenger plane and an Army helicopter collided Wednesday night, killing 67 people. Two of the victims lived right by the Oklahoma state line in Kiowa, Kansas.
Michael Simpson told KOCO 5 that he got to know Bob Schrock through lifting weights, saying he became a role model and a big part of his life.
“We had more of a mentor-type relationship, taught me a lot on how to live. And we did that through the decade,” said Simpson, the president of Freedom Gates Boys Ranch in Kansas.
But later in life, Simpson made a big move by quitting his job and taking on the nonprofit organization Freedom Gates Boys Ranch. He described Bob Schrock as a guy who would help in any way he could at that property.
“Bob said, ‘Michael, you worry about helping the kids. I’ll make your pasture look good. I’m good at that.’ and he came in and sprayed our pasture several times,” Simpson said. “I’m gonna make sure that pasture looks like a golf course is what he’d say. I’m gonna make it a golf course out there.”
Down in Capron, Oklahoma, the Capron United Methodist Church made a Facebook post on Thursday to let the community know of the tragedy near Washington, D.C. Capron is a town not even 15 minutes away from Kiowa, which is where the Schrocks lived.
“He’s got farm ground here in Kiowa, Barber County. It jumps across the Oklahoma-Kansas border there, the farm ground there,” Simpson said.
He told KOCO 5 that he found peace in seeing Oklahomans praying for the couple that was so influential in his life as the investigation into the crash in Washington, D.C., continues.
“I knew how quiet they were about what they did, and it makes me feel good that other people knew how special they were other than me. That’s neat, really neat,” Simpson said.
During a news conference on Thursday, leaders in Wichita said an official list of victims has not been released, and the earliest that could happen would be Friday afternoon.
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