AMY SZPARA

PHOTO: ST. JOHN OFFICERS SERVED AS PALLBEARERS at Stephanie “Nikki” Wilking’s funeral Saturday morning. The local teen, who formed Kids for Kops, died last Tuesday of miningitis. (Staff Photo by Amy Szpara) LAPLACE – The community was shocked by the sudden death last week of 17-year-old Stephanie “Nikki” Wilking, who contracted meningitis and died within hours of her initial symptoms from the bacteria. Services were held at Reserve Christian Church at 10 a.m. Saturday, and the church was packed with family and friends. While mourners signed the coffin, a group of singers’ voices filled the church with inspirational Christian hymns. Teen-agers filed into the building and took their seats, hugging friends and wiping their eyes of the tears that couldn’t be stopped. Wilking’s 11th-grade class at Reserve Christian School stood at the front of the church as two of her close friends eulogized her. Both friends spoke of the kind-hearted nature of the girl they had lost so abruptly. One friend shared with the congregation some of the notes found on Wilking’s mirror at home. Along with scripture passages, Wilking had notes to remind herself to “Never quit,” “Get right with God, with other people” and to “Rejoice.” Wilking, whose self-reminders were unlike those of most teens, was a girl who was anything but typical. An athlete who played volleyball, softball and basketball at Reserve Christian, Wilking was close to her coach, Michael Marix, who also spoke about his “Stephanikki” at the funeral. As team members stood behind the coach he told everyone she was a sweetheart. Marix said she was the one who kept him in his seat at games, since every time he jumped out of his seat to yell at a game he would have to buy her a Coke. She kept him in line, he said. Lt. Mike Hoover of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) in St. John the Baptist Parish also talked about his relationship with Wilking and the great things she did for law enforcement officers in the area. Founder of Kids for Kops, Wilking raised more than $30,000 for bullet-proof vests for sheriff’s deputies. “She’s my hero,” said Hoover, who first met Wilking when she was in fifth grade in the D.A.R.E. program at school. “Indeed, she was special.” Hoover talked about how Wilking had touched his life. He said he was hardened by what the world had shown him, until he met his “sweetheart.” Hoover played the guitar and sang Wilking’s favorite song, “Amazing Grace.” Everyone who spoke of Wilking mentioned her smile, one they said would brighten anyone’s day. And that smile was there for everyone to see on a projected image of a recent picture of Wilking on the walk behind the podium. Above it, read, “A Favorite Daughter Went Home.” Slides of Wilking were shown in tribute to her short life. The pictures were to be used in a slide program for the seniors when they graduated, when each student gets to be embarrassed by having everyone see his or her baby pictures and recent photos. Wilking didn’t make it to graduation, but her friends and family knew she would be laughing at her own pictures. They plan to show them again next year at graduation. As the song “Friends are Friends Forever” flowed through the church, pictures of Wilking as a naked, little baby flashed across the wall and surely the memories flashed across the minds of her parents and family. After the services, as St. John Sheriff’s deputies carried the girl who had done so much for them out of the church, it was obvious that they, along with so many others, would miss their “sweetheart.”