El Toro : Family of Navy Blast Victim to Attend Service

With a little help from several sources, the family of Geoffrey Scott Schelin, 20, who died along with 46 other seamen during an explosion on the battleship Iowa near Puerto Rico on Wednesday, will travel to Norfolk, Va., for a memorial service Monday that will be attended by President Bush.

The Navy is providing transportation for the parents, Dale and Darleen Schelin of El Toro. American Airlines has agreed to fly Geoffrey’s four brothers and four sisters to the memorial service, and TWA is offering discount tickets for the spouses of the brothers and sisters. In all, said Daryl Schelin, 36, one of the brothers, 15 family members are planning to attend the service.

Another fund to help Geoffrey’s family defray the cost of their travel expenses has been set up by Randy Smith, a computer salesman from Mission Viejo. He knew Geoffrey’s youngest sister, Angela, 19, through the family’s church, the Mission Viejo Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Smith said he was touched by the story of the family grieving over the loss of their son, and donated $100 to start the fund in conjunction with First Interstate Bank of Mission Viejo and the Schelin family. “A family belongs together in a situation like that,” Smith said. Daryl Schelin said the family is still awaiting word on when they can ship his brother’s body home for funeral services in Orange County.