A Year Later, A Family Remembers

March 23, 1996

A bumper sticker affixed to their mailbox tells the story for David and Brenda Week, who are still looking for answers one year after their daughter, Deidre, was killed in a hit and run car accident along County Trunk HH near their Vesper home.

By ROBYN LONTZ

Tribune Staff Writer

VESPER – An occasional car drives by with a fading pink bumper sticker proclaiming, “Justice for Deidre.”

In the front yard, a billboard declares the same message.

The road past the home is lined with pink ribbons tied to fences, mailboxes and tree branches.

Each weekday, only one of their children gets on and off the school bus.

But David and Brenda Week don’t need any reminders that their 11-year-old daughter is gone. They ache with their loss every day.

A year ago, Sunday, Deidre Week was riding her bicycle near her Vesper area home when she was struck from behind and killed by a vehicle that left the scene.

To this day, the driver has neither been identified nor arrested.

“It still seems like yesterday,” Brenda said Thursday. “A year went by so fast.”

For both of Deidre’s parents, the hardest – and most frustrating – part has been not knowing who is responsible for their daughter’s death.

“With the ongoing investigation and all the unanswered questions, we really haven’t had time to settle down and deal with (Deidre’s death),” Brenda said.

Said her husband: “This whole thing has taken a toll on my religious beliefs, and it’s taken a toll on my family.”

Besides her parents, Deidre is survived by two brothers, Brandon, 11, and Avery, 2.

“We all miss her, but we haven’t forgotten her,” said Brenda, adding that they’ve kept Deidre’s room as she left it, and they keep photographs and other mementos of their daughter in every room of the house.

“I like to have all of her stuff,” Brenda said. “It keeps her memory around, especially for Avery, who is too young to really understand. All he knows is that his big sister is in heaven. We don’t want him to forget her.”

David said he shared a very special relationship with his daughter.

“We had a lot of fun together. When I look back, I can say there’s not one thing I would do differently. I feel totally comfortable with the life we had. And when Deidre was taken away, I could appreciate having her. Life still has to go on, but it will never be the same.”

Added Brenda: “I feel like our best years – all of us together as a family – are over. Hopefully, there will be many more good years with Brandon and Avery.

“Still, there is a big, empty place in my heart. Every day, things will happen, and I’ll think, what would Deidre do? Or what would Deidre say?”

The Weeks describe their daughter as a robust girl with a zest for life. She loved animals, especially ponies and horses, dancing and riding her bike.

“Everything she did, she did well,” David said. “She was a good little girl. She had a big heart and was really caring, and we loved her with all our hearts.”