Remembering Jackie Walorski: Politicians, family and friends celebrate VA clinic renaming

 

MISHAWAKA, Ind.-- ABC57 continues to remember Jackie Walorski, Indiana’s 2nd district congresswoman, killed last year in a crash that claimed the lives of three others: Zachary Potts, Emma Thompson and Edith Schmucker.  

Walorski served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 until her death, and one cause she held close to her heart was veteran's issues.  

In the hours after the shocking news of Walorski’s death, Congressman Jim Banks gathered his team and came up with an idea.

 “We talked about, I mean, ‘what can we do?’ Really, how do you honor such a giant, from Indiana, in public service and the congress who was so widely respected by everybody. Literally everyone in congress respected Jackie. Of course, we’ll go down the well of the floor and we’ll give a speech about how much she meant to us. We’ll pass a resolution honoring her.”  

Banks said he wanted to do more, and his team member had a suggestion.  

“He had this idea, he said, ‘they just opened this incredible facility, let’s name it after her. Let’s pass a bill to name it after Jackie Walorski.’ And I thought, of all of the ways we could honor her, I can’t think of too many things that would be more fitting than that.”  

And so it was, and the Mishawaka facility was renamed the Jackie Walorski Veterans Affairs Clinic.  

“We were there when the president signed it,” said Martha Walorski, Jackie’s mother, “and it was a unanimous vote, and that doesn’t happen very often in DC.”  

Martha Walorski spoke at the ceremony to honor the late congresswoman, and unveil the plaque that makes the renaming official.  

“The plaque is breathtaking, it is absolutely beautiful, and to know that anytime we drive through here, we’re going to see Jackie's name, and knowing that that name represents her love and passion for the veterans of the 2nd district, as well as all veterans,” she said.  

Congresswoman Walorski served on the Veterans Affairs Committee while serving in the house, and she sponsored the Veteran’s Mobility Safety Act of 2016, which eventually became law.

Rudy Yakym filled Walorski’s congress seat after her passing.  

“Never afraid to stand up for vets, take their stories to D.C.,” Yakym said. “There’s hardly a day that goes by that I don’t travel around the district here and hear a story from a veteran that she helped along the way.”  

Her advocacy went beyond policy; family says she went out of her way to help individual veterans from falling through the cracks.  

“She said, ‘you’re going to get him taken care of, or else, I’m going to be there in front of the camera crews, and we’re going to get him taken care of.’ And they got him moved and taken care of, and they saved his life,” Swihart said.  

The late congresswoman leaves a grieving family behind.  

“There’s not a day goes by I don’t think of her. In my bedroom, I have hanging the cartoon picture that was at the funeral that an artist in Indianapolis did of her going into heaven, and I know that’s where she is, and that is what I look forward to, is seeing her again in heaven,” Martha Walorski said.  

They say they appreciate any moment to honor her legacy.  

“She’d say, ‘let’s get back to work and get something done for the veterans now, let’s stop talking about this,’” Swihart said. “She was always about getting things done.”