SHORT-GERSHMAN, Jesse Anders July 22, 1992 - October 29, 2014 A beautiful mind ... misunderstood by many ... a struggle within himself. Jesse's journey to find some peace came to a tragic end on Oct. 29, 2014. Our family memories are abundant and we have all been enriched by knowing and loving Jesse. His absence leaves a tremendous void in our lives, beyond reason. Jesse was a warm hearted person with a fierce drive to succeed. At age 3, as a pre-schooler, he was 'labeled' as gifted. He was a child prodigy in math and piano and attended Cordova Bay Elementary, Royal Oak Middle, and Claremont High School, graduating at age 15 with the Governor General's Bronze Medal. Over the years he received numerous academic awards and excelled at golf, taking home a number of trophies, and far too many golf bags! At age 16 he attended UVic and in 2011, at age 19, he graduated with the Governor General's Silver Medal (for the highest undergraduate GPA), with an honors degree in math and computer science. He received a full scholarship for a UVic computer Science Masters degree and managed to obtain an internship at Google in Silicon Valley in 2012. Jesse set lofty goals, had dogged determination, and chose to leave his Masters program as he succeeded in securing fulltime employment at Google at age 20. He worked as a computer programmer with a focus and passion for coding, collaborating with a skilled team of like-minded "Googlers". He balanced his academic pursuits with a zest for cycling, hiking, golfing, water polo, piano, swimming, camping and snorkeling ... he was a true 'nature boy'. Jesse also played a mean game of chess and he and his Mom were famous for their epic scrabble games. Most people found it daunting to play this game with him, with his many 7 letter word 'bingos'. Starting at a young age, and continuing throughout his life. Jesse had an ongoing passion for astronomy and geography. With him around we rarely had to go and "google it" to find out the name of a star formation or to name the capital city of some obscure country! Known for his gentle eyes and kind nature, Jesse's only enemy on this earth was his challenge with his complex syndrome of obsessive compulsive disorder and depression. After multiple unsuccessful attempts at treatment Jesse channeled his strength and courage towards a definitive end to his suffering. Jesse is missed and loved beyond description by his devoted 'Mama', Erin Short, his loving Dad, Stu Gershman, 4 grandparents, Doreen and Frank Short, George and Gloria Gershman, his 97 yr. old Great Gramma Lee, aunts and uncles and 7 cousins. And, on his father's side, by brothers Max, Zak and sister Ashley. He also had a special relationship with Michael Marek and Niki Green. There was a private family memorial held in a manner consistent with what Jesse would have appreciated. We will be honouring Jesse in a number of ways. One of these is an ongoing scholarship for the UVic computer science department. Jesse spent many years tutoring his peers in high school and at UVic and would be proud to know that there will be ongoing assistance for students in the future. Donations to the Jesse Short-Gershman Scholarship Fund can be made at the Royal Bank of Canada Transit 8370, 3970 Shelbourne Street, Victoria, B.C. V8N 3E2. Please drop in to any RBC branch in Canada or mail a cheque to the address above.