Victim’s Humanity Lost In Aftermath

On Jan. 11, Steve Roscoe surprised a couple of burglars at his Elk-area home and was shot and killed, allegedly by them.

Forget those big issues about violent crime in America and how the youth of our country are themselves increasingly violent. The real issue is our community just lost a good man, and most of us will never know anything about him.

Through my work I met Steve just hours before he was killed. Although I barely knew him - we only spoke for a couple of hours - I was stunned by the news of his death. He was having his car repaired at a dealership where I sell cars. He and his wife, Debbie, cradling a cute little dog in her arms, wandered onto the showroom to look at cars.

Most customers are uneasy talking to salesmen. Part of my job is breaking down the wall of anxiety and forging some trust and communication. With Steve that wall didn’t exist. He smiled and shook my hand. We fell into an easy, friendly conversation about the car he was interested in. No barriers, no friction.

We talked about more than just cars. He spoke proudly of his son, who had recently finished a grueling program in nuclear engineering for the U.S. Navy. He mentioned how he and his wife once drove through the night to get their son back to his military post in southern Idaho so he wouldn’t report late.

Steve Roscoe was simply a terrific guy. Here’s a man, I thought later, who I would have been proud to call my friend.

It’s sad that we will never really see the human face of Steve Roscoe. His friends and family will remember him. But except for brief mentions in the news, our community will learn nothing more about this man.

Meanwhile, we’ll learn plenty about his alleged killers. The media will scrutinize their lives.

Sadly, through the weeks, months, and years ahead society will lose sight of a good man. We will lose, or worse yet, will never have had sight of the human face of Steve Roscoe.

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion page. To submit a column for consideration, call Rebecca Nappi/459-5496, or Doug Floyd/459-5466.