This holiday, a Northeast Ohio family’s grief was accompanied by gratitude. For a second year, friends and family of Ryan Walker spent their Thanksgiving morning completing a 5K in his honor.
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“It’s a sunny day today. We’ll take that. It’s Ohio, it’s November,” said David Walker, Ryan’s father.
Like the sun cutting through the November chill, Ryan’s family said the support they’ve received over the last year has helped cut through the loneliness of grief.
“That is the sunshine on the dark spot,” David Walker said.
“It makes a difference,” Ryan’s mother, Belinda Walker, added. “It helps us to meet this day with a heart filled with tons of gratitude and it really softens the blow to the heart.”
In September 2022, the third-year BGSU student was returning to campus from a Guardians game when he was killed in a crash with a drunk driver.
“This Thanksgiving, it’s still difficult,” said Belinda Walker. “There were many tears this morning between me and my daughter as we were getting ready to come over here.”
Vincent Morales added, “It’s been tough, but it’s been a year full of growth – mentally, emotionally, physically, obviously.”
Morales was seriously injured in the crash that killed his friend. Last Thanksgiving, he participated in an inaugural Turkey Trot 5K fundraiser in Ryan’s honor using a walker.
“It’s really a blessing to back out here without a walker this time,” he said. “I just keep remembering that Ryan’s looking over me, helping me through life like he did when he was here.”
Thursday, Morales was able to run the 5K event along with more than 100 others.
“This exceeded our expectations. And we’re so grateful that people still want to come out on a Thanksgiving,” said Rebekah Savage, Ryan’s sister.
She said she had been inspired to run every day in recent months in Ryan’s memory. She ran the 5K on Thursday as well.
“We’ve had a lot of time to heal and also come together and make it a great cause,” Savage said. “It really has helped make his memory alive.”
The annual run raises money for the Forever Falcon Foundation, an organization founded in Ryan’s honor. In May, the Walker family used the money raised to award three scholarships at Ryan’s alma mater, Firelands High School. They expect it will help even more students in the coming years.
“These students that we’re awarding scholarships to, they are our future leaders. Ryan was a future leader,” said Ryan’s mother.
His family and friends have also made it their mission to raise awareness of the dangers of drunk driving and the devastation it can cause.
“This was on my birthday, my last birthday with him,” Belinda Walker said, pointing to a smiling picture of the two of them before flipping the photo. “And this is how I get him back. This is all I’m saying. We’re looking at him as he’s lying in his casket.”
Morales added, “You can destroy families, friends, communities. It’s just such an unnecessary risk.”
Ryan’s family and friends said the support from the group running, walking and cheering on Thanksgiving morning helped ease the pain of their loss.
“That’s what’s going to carry us through, it absolutely will. We are beyond grateful,” said Belinda Walker.
The family said they had already met their $10,000 fundraising goal Thursday morning and expect to award more scholarships than the previous year. They also plan to purchase billboard space to raise awareness about the impact of drunk driving.
