Friends remember student at service

A memorial service was held this past Saturday at Whittenberger Auditorium for Helen Walker, who died after being struck by a drunk driver in May.\n"Don't stop thinking about Helen, or talking about her. If we all do this, the memory of her will live on," said Townsend Teague, close friend and theatrical colleague of the late student. \nWalker was home in her native Texas following the completion of her junior year, and on her way to see a friend. \n"I was lucky enough to know Helen for two years, and she would want us all to celebrate the wonderful life that she lived," Teague said. "Let us gather today to share, enjoy, grieve, and rejoice together."\nFor the first time since the tragic accident, friends and family were able to gather to mourn the loss and share their memories of Walker, who would have been a senior in the technical theater program this fall. \nJunior Ann Aurbach, the event's organizer, is compiling a scrapbook of Walker for her family. Aurbach asked attendees at the service's start to help by donating any pictures or other items for the book. \nWalker, an active member in the theater at IU since her freshman year, served behind the scenes as production manager and technical director for many University and community theater productions. \n"She always worked so hard, she was always prepared for anything … we never had to ask her to do things, because she would already have done them," said Teague, producer of the 2001 B-Town Players, "A Chorus Line."\n Teague and Walker worked closely on many productions, and had planned a meeting to discuss the upcoming theater season when Teague was informed of Walker's sudden death. \n "I couldn't believe she was gone. It didn't seem real to me, because I couldn't imagine a life without Helen," Teague said.\n Bringing Walker's life away from Bloomington to her IU friends, hometown friend Maggie May Jacobs also spoke during the service, offering memories of a life-long friendship. \n "We were best friends since we were 18 months old, and we always took vacations together," Jacobs said. "Helen was one of those people who never lost her childhood sense of fun, and she always saw everything as an opportunity." \n Although Jacobs tried to reflect on Walker's life with a positive outlook, Jacobs became emotional when speaking. \n"[Helen] was so giving and kind," she said. "I say to everyone here -- be happy you've had the opportunity to love someone so special."\n After Teague and Jacobs spoke, Aurbach invited attendees to stand and share their memories of Walker. \nWalker was remembered as outgoing by graduate student Maria Strouse, a friend and fellow stage manager, who spoke about an experience the two shared.\n"My funniest memory of Helen was a night where we stayed up very late to rehearse for our T100 class," said Strouse, referring to an introductory theater course. "Helen and I had to act out a scene from 'A Streetcar Named Desire.' Even though Helen was only about 5-foot-1, she read the macho role of Stanley. There we were, at two-thirty in the morning, Helen screaming 'Stella' at the top of her lungs. That was the kind of person she was … she'd just give her all with utter abandonment, no matter what (the) situation."\nWalker's mother and younger brother also spoke, thanking Walker's friends who had organized the event, for caring so dearly about Helen. \n"Helen loved IU, and it was our privilege, as her parents to give her what she wanted," Theresa Walker said. "We are so proud of her, because in the short time she had, she did what she loved and was surrounded by wonderful people." \nAurbach and other friends and family have organized a collection for Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Walker's name. \nThey will also continue to collect pictures and other memories for the scrapbook of Helen for the Walker family. \n"Helen always put others before her," Strouse said. "(In the theater and in life), there are many stars, but Helen allowed other to be stars. She did everything she could to ensure the success and safety of others. She was a truly amazing person"