Almost every day, Stephanie Walker heads to a makeshift memorial of flowers and photos to talk to and remember her murdered son, Patrick.
Now, she and her husband, John, want to create a more permanent memorial to Patrick, who was stabbed to death behind the Harford County Health Department in an apparent road rage attack in May 2006.
Stephanie Walker hopes the memorial to the victim of the first Bel Air murder in two decades will provide some comfort to others.
“This is hopefully something we can do to help other people who have suffered from the same kind of tragedy we have, as the result of something so senseless,” she said.
Sunday, a family ? and a town ? will come together for a bull roast and silent auction to raise money for a permanent memorial at Bel Air?s Rockfield Manor and a memorial scholarship for students at C. Milton Wright High School.
Patrick Walker, 23, was killed after he allegedly cut off 21-year-old Michael Razzio Simmons while driving through Bel Air. Simmons pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last April, but has another hearing scheduled in January where he will seek to change his plea and go to trial.
Stephanie and other family members have gone to the memorial regularly to replace weather-faded photos and replenish flowers. But she worries that the county plans to move the health department?s offices to Edgewood. So she now hopes to build a permanent memorial at Rockfield Manor, a city property near the Ma and Pa Trail that would fit Patrick?s love of nature, she said.
Dr. Shawn Lee, a Bel Air chiropractor, volunteered to help the family solicit gift baskets, services and other items from local businesses to be auctioned off. Jewelry from Smythe Jewelers, a wine basket from a local liquor distributor and gift certificates from other local businesses will be among the auction items.
“Through my business networking, I?ve made a lot of contacts, so we told the family we?d help out that way,” Lee said.
The town of Bel Air has also helped, donating the use of Rockfield Manor for the evening and helping the family get a one-day liquor license, said Mayor Terry Hanley.
“I hope this will be good for the parents in the healing process,” Hanley said. “Sometimes after losing a loved one, it?s good to get people together to share memories and talk about that person.”
