Remembering Jackie Walorski's life and legacy

On this day one year ago, U.S. Representative Jackie Walorski was killed in a car crash.

The South Bend native loved to serve her community and was proud to be a Hoosier.

That day she was on the way back from a ribbon cutting ceremony with her campaign team. Police say the driver, her campaign manager Zach Potts, crossed the center line. With them in the car was Emma Thomson, the communications director for Jackie Walorski.

The fourth victim, Edith Schmucker, was driving in the opposite direction when the two cars crashed. She was on her way home from her job in Wakarusa.

Local and congressional leaders are finding ways to honor the late congresswoman a year later.

Ideas on ways to memorialize Walorski were already flowing within weeks of her tragic death. Those who knew her or knew of her were eager to find ways to honor Walorski after all of the great work she did in her community.

Just days after Walorski’s death, a bill was introduced to rename the Mishawaka VA Clinic in her honor. The bill was passed in September and the clinic was dedicated to Jackie.

She had worked with former Senator Joe Donnelly to secure the 89,000 square foot space for veterans in the region. The $38 million facility later opened in 2017.

City commissioners in Elkhart also had an opportunity to honor Walorski with another name dedication. They decided in December to name a newly built road after Jackie on County Road 4 in the Elkhart East Industrial Parkway. That road was officially dedicated back in April.

The Indiana Congressional Delegation also introduced a bill in honor of Walorski shortly after her death. The Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act of 2022 remembers Walorski’s commitment to expanding and strengthening home visits for those in need. The act was included in the 2022 final year end spending package. This expanded access to more qualifying families by increasing the federal investment over five years.

Before her passing, Jackie was also working to address the national opioid crisis, which is still hitting Hoosiers hard here in Michiana.

Walorski helped pass bipartisan legislation, named after Michiana Dr. Todd Graham, after he was killed by a patient for not prescribing a patient opioids. The House of Representatives voted unanimously in favor of the act in June 2018. The bill also directs the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services to study access to non-drug alternatives.