Readers React to Killing of Jean and Scott Adam

Patch readers from around the world have been sharing their thoughts about the tragedy that recently claimed the lives of Jean and Scott Adam, members of the Del Rey Yacht Club in Marina del Rey who were shot and killed earlier this week by pirates off the coast of Somalia. The couple were parishioners at St. Monica's Catholic Church in Santa Monica and were distributing Bibles on an around-the-world voyage when their yacht was hijacked by Somali pirates.

Here's a sampling of reader reaction from this site and Santa Monica Patch:

"I worked with Jean (then Jean Savage) until the day she retired in 1999," Cheryl Tormey wrote. "She was an excellent dentist and respected by those who knew her. At the time she was the President of the California Dental Examiners. She was full of eithics [sic], an integrity. She was a wonderful boss. At the end of each day, she would thank me, Debbie and Marilyn for a good days work. She made you feel appreciated. There are employers who could learn from her. I know she is with Lord. We would see all the priests at St Monicas as our patients. I was blessed to have known her and her kids, Drew and Brad. It is a sad way to have your life ended. But, ultimately she is with God and I am sure in HIS choir."

John Bettinger DDS, from Santa Monica, also knew Jean personally.

"Jean graduated from the UCLA school of dentistry a few years after me," he wrote. "She practiced dentistry in Santa Monica in the same building as me when she sold her practice and told me of her plans to sail with her husband. She was a great dentist, her patient's loved her and she was devoted to her profession. She was the first female president of the Dental Board of California and was a loyal member of the California Dental Association. We will all miss her, her spirit and energy. Our prayers are with her and her family."

Readers from outside Santa Monica have weighed in as well. "Just terrible!!!!so sad!..our prays are with you from holland xxx," wrote a woman named Janet.

"My condolences to the family & friends of the tragic loss of the Adam's," wrote Harry Thompson from Tuscon, Ariz.

Sol Atienza said she and her husband, Rick, are keeping the couple in their prayers.

"My husband and I may not know them personally but as Catholic/Christians, we feel the loss of our sisters and brothers, Jean, Phyllis Scott & Bob," Sol wrote. "We are all God's people. Our thoughts and prayers to their love ones, families and friends. ... The two couples's mission in life were already fulfilled so therefore they in a much better place now with God."

BeckyS also shared her thoughts: "God bless you, I have been praying for the family. May God's comfort overwhelm you and others."

"I worked with Scott several times when he was a [unit-production manager]," wrote. "He was the rare person of genuine kindness and integrity in a business sorely lacking in both. He was good at his job but not obsessed by it and always found time for humor. I enjoyed working with him very much and always remembered him fondly. That he came to such a violent end is shocking beyond words. I burst out crying when I heard as I'm sure many, many others have as well. He made a difference in his time on this planet. He will be remembered with love."

, who lives in Santa Monica, was also in shock. "This is so unbelievable—that people we all know well—could be gunned down in the middle of ocean," she wrote. "It all seems like a bad dream. We know where Scott and Jean are today and I pray that many will pick up the mantle and continue to do the work that they were doing. The lived their lives to the fullest and for the glory of God. May their work have everlasting benefits."

Another reader, , shared her thoughts from Auckland, New Zealand. "My heart goes out to family and friends of Jean and Scott," she wrote. "Wonderful people on a wonderful mission."

More than 8,500 miles away, agreed. "My condolences too," he wrote. "I received the news with horror I read every line with sadness. What could such a great couple face a painful death like these while on a mission to change the walfare [sic] of the innocent to understand the word of God. My God rest their souls in peace."

also sounded a religious note in his comment. "May they and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in the peace of Christ," he wrote. "Amen+"

Editor's note: Kurt Orzeck is a parishioner at St. Monica's and previously served as a member of the church's Communications Committee.