People: Jerry Weyrauch, MBA '57

Photograph by Ralph Daniel

When tragedy strikes a family, it can either destroy the very fiber that holds them together or it can make them stronger. When Jerry and Elsie Weyrauch's daughter Terri, a physician, took her own life in 1987, the Weyrauchs initially blamed themselves. They not only survived, however, they went on and have since dedicated their lives to preventing similar tragedies.

Since those first dark days, the Weyrauchs have launched a campaign out of their Marietta, Ga., home office to educate themselves and others about the causes of suicide as well as some of the methods used to prevent the eighth leading cause of death in the United States. Their first step was to join the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a national advocacy group, and set up a Southeastern chapter. They've also created their own organization, the Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network (SPAN). They have discussed suicide with survivors from across the country, as well as political and religious leaders, educators, police, and even pharmaceutical companies. "One thing we've discovered is that virtually everybody has been touched by suicide, directly or indirectly," says Weyrauch. "It might be a relative, a coworker, or a friend of a friend," he says, but there are not usually many degrees of separation.

In 1997, after SPAN delivered more than 65,000 letters urging lawmakers to support a resolution declaring suicide prevention a national priority, the resolution unanimously passed in the Senate. The House followed in 1998. Last year SPAN held a national conference, with attendees from across the country. And most recently, U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher declared suicide a public health concern.

It's not the way most people dream of spending their retirement, but, says Al Floda, MBA '80, a SPAN volunteer and friend who followed Weyrauch as president of the Atlanta SBSAA chapter: "Jerry Weyrauch is a reminder that at any age a person can make a significant difference. SPAN is his vision, and he's the most inspirational person I've ever met."

— PETER CALLAHAN