'We're his family.'
Ginger Walker's parents care for her son Shaye after Ginger's death in a drunk driving crash.

“It’s tough being responsible for someone else’s child, guessing if you’re doing the right thing,” says Nina Walker, new member of MADD’s National Board of Directors. “We wonder, ‘What would Ginger do?’”

Ginger's Story

Ginger Walker

Ginger, 22, was killed in a three-car crash caused by a drunk driver on February 11, 2001. Nina and her husband Gary have been raising their grandson Shaye ever since their daughter’s death. The offender was speeding, chasing and bumping another car carrying his fiancée. He is still serving a 14-year sentence for his conviction of gross vehicular manslaughter with gross bodily injury or death.

“It really blew apart our family for a time. We were each retreating into our own issues of grief,” says Nina. “We had to make sense out of something so nonsensical. We were a fractured family unit – we have moved forward – not to what it was, but mended as a family.”

Guided by Faith
The Walkers live in San Diego, where their oldest daughter Dana and youngest daughter Natalie also live. “Our faith has really helped us through,” Nina says. “Gary misses Ginger terribly, and had to have a major timeout with God. We’ve just recently joined a new church, and our faith gives us hope. I firmly believe we’ll be together again.”

Their middle daughter, Ginger was a junior studying nursing at Point Loma Nazarene University of San Diego. A very caring, nurturing and sensitive person, she graduated from high school when she was eight months pregnant. 

A Son Being Raised by His Grandparents
Three years old at the time of his mother's crash, Shaye is now 11. “When he was younger, about four, he asked if he could call me ‘Mommy.’ I told him I felt honored that he wanted to, but that I was his grandma, and Ginger would always be his mommy,” Nina says. “We’re his family.”

“It’s really not fair to grow up without a mom, but these are the cards we’ve been dealt. You care for, nurture and yet you have no control when something like this happens,” says Nina. “I can’t love him the way Ginger would, but I love him the way I loved her.”

Catharsis and Healing 

Natalie, Gary, Shaye and Nina Walker celebrate Ginger's life through their work with MADD.

Nina initially became involved with San Diego MADD by speaking at victim impact panels, schools, and military installations. Having completed her MADD victim advocate training, Nina is glad Natalie has decided to join her, both as a certified victim advocate and a volunteer speaker.

“It’s more cathartic and healing to tell your story, than to keep it buried,” says Nina. “I hear Natalie’s grief and sadness, and it opens the wound, but when we speak it also helps to convince us that Ginger’s death was not in vain, and we can help others not affected by this horrific event.” 

Ginger's Legacy
“Parents worry that their child will be forgotten,” says Nina, who now heads the national board committee for Walk Like MADD. Fortunately, the nursing students following in Ginger’s program continue to honor Ginger annually with a scholarship in her name, specifically designed for students who are single mothers or fathers. The Walkers are also touched by Ginger’s friends who still remember Shaye’s birthday, and by friends who send a card for the anniversary of her crash.

“We’d rather people talk about her,” says Nina. “We enjoy people acknowledging and remembering her. The days preceding her Christmas Eve birthday and the crash anniversary are toughest, remembering that raw grief. We all get a little testy, but then once you get there, you can get through it.”

She knows it’s more common for grandparents to raise grandchildren these days, for a variety of reasons. “It’s sometimes tough,” Nina says. “How I hate homework! We did our science project and failed miserably.” 

As Grandparents Day approaches, consider making a donation to MADD in honor of your grandparents or other special people whose presence in your life has made a difference.

Learn more about MADD Victim Services. Call our Victim/Survivor Helpline at 1-877-MADD-HELP (877-623-3435) to speak with a Victim Advocate.