Jake Shoff is survived by his wife, Emily Criddle, and their four children.
According to the sources, Jake Shoff, a former basketball player at Brigham Young University, passed away in February 2025 at 46.
Highlights
- Sources claimed that Jake Shoff lost his life in a tragic car accident.
- Jake Shoff was married to Emily Criddle Shoff, with whom he shared four children.
- Shoff and his family vacationed on the Hanalei River in 2017.
The details regarding the accident have not been revealed yet by his family and police officials.
Shoff was born in September 1978 in Biloxi, Mississippi. His father’s military service allowed him to move to multiple places in the country.
He attended Weber State College, starting 19 of 28 games as a sophomore, scoring 7.4 points and pulling down a team-best 6.0 rebounds.
Jake later attended BYU, where he graduated with a degree in management in 2004.
While at BYU, he played basketball for the Cougars. He played in 57 of 62 games over two seasons, averaging 11.5 minutes.
A strong rebounder and underestimated offensive player, he led BYU in field goal percentage as a senior (.619) and junior (.609) while averaging just under three rebounds per game for the Cougars off the bench.
He finished his BYU career as a member of BYU’s back-to-back NCAA Tournament team.
Despite being hampered by illness and injury, he provided a spark off the bench and made significant contributions in clutch situations.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Jake was a Co-founder & CEO at Alpine Treatment Service, LLC.
Later, he founded The Phoenix Recovery Center, LLC in June 2012.
Jake Shoff’s Legacy Lives On Through Wife Emily Criddle And Their Four Children
Former Brigham Young University basketball player Jake Shoff married Emily Criddle Shoff on October 26, 2001.
Emily grew up in Glendale, Arizona, with her cousins Carrie Johnson and Raymond Harris.
Jake Shoff and Emily share four children: Zachary Jacob, 21, Brady, Grant, and Max.
Sadly, Emily and Jake’s married life ended after around 24 years following the tragic death of Jake Shoff.
Currently, Emily is mourning the death of her husband, and relatives have poured their heartfelt condolence to Shoff’s family to stay strong in this challenging time.
WASP Attacked Jake Shoff, His Wife Emily, And Kids During Their Visit To Hanalei River
In 2017, Jake and his wife Emily took their three sons, Zachary, Brady, and Grant, to vacation in Hawaii’s Hanalei River. Jake said,
“We’ve always wanted to kayak the Hanalei River, to go up past the bridge and up into the animal reserve, the bird refuge up there,”
Jake Shoff
They rented a pair of kayaks from Kayak Hanalei. On the trip back to the dock, Jake’s kayak clipped a branch jutting over the water, and he accidentally hit a wasp net.
Jake overturned his kayak for protection and pushed his wife and kids to the middle of the river, but the wasps kept coming.
He was stung seven times, three on the top of his head, once over his eighth eye, once on his neck, and once on his right hand.
While in the water, Jake slipped into seizures and started foaming at the mouth. Eventually, he stopped breathing, suffering from anaphylactic shock.
Emily, who was six months pregnant then, held her husband’s head above water. She said,
“I was yelling, ‘Breathe!’ The kids were like, ‘Daddy, breathe! Breathe!’ We had to get him to breathe,”
Emily Shoff
Thankfully, two women named Michelle Garcia and Pam Crooke showed up at the scene. They jumped into the river and grabbed Jake, 6 feet 8 inches tall. Emily said,
“They were able to maneuver him to keep his airway clear,”
Emily Shoff
Emily called 911, and the woman jolted Jake whenever he stopped breathing. First responders arrived and rushed Jake to the Wilcox Medical Center.
He got to the emergency room 90 minutes after he was stung, and his wife said he stopped breathing several times.
Additional Information
- Jake Shoff was born to his father, Carl, and his mother, Mary Ann Shoff.
- He served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Honduras.
- Shoff averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists during his senior year at American Fork High School.
