Former editor Sherrard dies

By Jason Kosareff
Daily Forty-Niner

Ethan Scherrard was not a quitter. He proved it when he returned to his favorite hobby, bike riding, even after losing his right leg below the knee.

The loss of his knee, which was the result of the congenital heart problem that took his life Saturday in his Huntington Beach home, did not outwardly seem to phase the 30-year-old Scherrard.

"He was a rock," said Scherrard's close friend, David Weiner of Long Beach. "He never felt sorry for himself."

Scherrard and Weiner were both editors of the Daily Forty-Niner in 1996, serving as city editor and editor in chief respectively.

"He was an outstanding reporter," Weiner said. And, he added, an excellent student, who loved to write investigative pieces.

Scherrard started reporting in 1995, became city editor in 1996 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in print journalism in 1997.

As part of a 1996 "editor's revolt" in which the entire editorial staff of the Daily Forty-Niner quit en masse in frustration with the journalism department, Scherrard quit his job as city editor.

After graduating he went on to work for www.ocnow.com, owned by Cox Communications, one of the largest media companies in the United States.

Scherrard loved his job as content producer for the Web site, a portal of news and entertainment covering his native Orange County.

"He was going places at Ocnow," Weiner said. "He was an Internet freak."

Aside from the Internet and mountain biking, his other main interest was classic punk music, Weiner said.

Scherrard died while sitting at his computer in the home he shared with his fiancee.

He is survived by his parents and sister. A private memorial service will be held today at his parent's Irvine home.