The Obituary she should've had

ELEN SARAH WALKER, age 21, of Sugar Land, TX, died Saturday, May 19, 2001. Arrangements are to be announced."\nThis is what the Houston Chronicle newspaper death announcements section printed Sunday, May 20 amidst a score of names followed by lengthy obituaries commenting on the lives of men and women who died recently and those they were remembered by. Helen Sarah Walker's announcement said nothing.\nIs this to indicate that this girl -- this woman -- accomplished nothing in her life, cut short by a drunk driver? Is this indicating that Helen Walker is not remembered by anyone?\nAs a student at IU and writer for the IDS, I've seen the articles printed where an IU student has died either from alcohol poisoning at a Fraternity party, or death by automobile accident on the way to New York for spring break and, thankfully, few others. I've read these stories and thought to myself how awful such tragedies are. No one deserves to die that early. Then, I'd walk away and continue my day and routine - life goes on. When I received the news that Helen, my colleague, fellow student and good friend was no longer, life could not "just" go on. \nHelen Walker was to be a senior this fall and was going to graduate with me in the spring with a double major in Theater and Drama and computer science. Helen was what we call a techie in theater jargon, but that says nothing about what the girl could do. Helen maintained a load including 17 credit hours, a full time job as the technical director for IU's Broadway Cabaret, the stage manager for the B -Town Player's production of "A Chorus Line," the University Players Technical Director and all around savior. She was also willing to help people move, help fellow students with projects, send tons of emails and pull strings just so that a show might run more smoothly with an extra stage hand, and if all else failed, come and help herself.\nHelen was a lightning fast thinker, sharp and very knowledgeable. When she was around or involved with a project, there was a sense that the project would be an ultimate success, and if it wasn't, it would at least look great and run well.\nBeyond this, however, she was a fun, cute, quirky, spunky and silly girl who loved her friends and loved to have fun. She was warm, the perfect hugger -- the kind that once your arms embrace it feels like a perfect match.\nHelen had an incredible smile, and her brown eyes peering up at her friends (yes, she was short) through her thinly rimmed glasses with the look of pure and true friendship is an image that I shall never forget.\nHelen and I had many memories, but I think the one regret I perhaps have is something that directly correlates to my job here at the IDS. I wrote a review in the spring of "A Chorus Line," for which Helen served as stage manager and company manager from the moment the idea for the show began to flower(over a year of commitment).\n I gave the show what I will maintain was a fair and honest review, but Helen pleaded with me to be gentle because of how hard the cast and crew had worked on the show. \n When I called her and read her the review, she began crying on the phone to me because she knew that no matter how fair or honest I had been, she and her cast would take it a tad more personally than perhaps I had anticipated.\n Hearing her cry on the phone made me realize how much she threw herself into her work and everything she did. I will miss her so much, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry that I made her cry. \nWhen a friend dies, a part of you dies with them because as a friend you gave yourself to that friend. My brother recently told me that if he should (God forbid) die as a young man, he wants me to say at his funeral, "He died at his time," rather than say that he died too soon.\nHelen died at her time, much to the dismay of all those who knew and loved her. \nSo, because she never had one, this is Helen's obituary. Helen Sarah Walker, remembered by her parents, relatives and many friends and professors at her Alma Mater, Indiana University -- Bloomington. We miss you and love you.