Friends celebrate life of Winfield athlete

Basketball coach Mike Zierk treasures one special photo. He's pictured with Bethani Werner, a former point guard for his team at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Winfield.

The duo are strapped into an amusement-park ride that raises visitors nearly 100 feet into the air, then plunges them straight to the ground.

At first, Bethani was too scared to ride alone.

“But then you look at the picture, and I'm the one with my eyes closed and head down, and there's her with just a big smile,” Zierk said. “She was that kind of girl.”

For six weeks, Werner's parents, two siblings and a throng of family and friends like Zierk have been grieving the death of the 20-year-old, who graduated from St. Francis High School in Wheaton in 2008.

The Winfield native was enjoying her junior year at St. Ambrose University in Iowa until she was killed by a motorist around 2:30 a.m. Oct. 24 while crossing a four-lane road.

Werner was about a block away from her apartment near the school, then was struck by a car driven by a 36-year-old Davenport man, said police, who characterized the case as a tragic accident.

“Bethani was walking her friend home because she didn't want her to walk alone and be unsafe,” said her mother, Kathy Pelkey.

The wake and funeral that followed near Werner's home were filled with tremendous grief and sadness, said Zierk. Hundreds of mourners attended.

But Werner's family and her former coach agreed the lively athlete known for her gift of laughter also deserved an uplifting tribute.

That is why a basketball fundraiser dubbed “Bethani's Night” will happen on Dec. 18 at her high school alma mater, St. Francis.

Because Werner played during St. John's four-year reign over the DuPage Parochial League with a record of 50 wins and just three losses, athletes will honor her with a game and shooting contests.

Proceeds will benefit the newly formed Bethani Werner Fund, which will provide scholarships for students hoping to attend St. John's.

Pelkey said she has been touched by the community's support since losing her daughter, and she believes the scholarship will be a step in the healing process.

“Now we can take her name and everything she's done in her short life and maybe make something good of this tragic accident,” Pelkey said. “This will not just be a positive memory of Bethani, but will do something positive for others.”

At the fundraiser, St. John's will challenge rival team St. Michael Parish School in Wheaton to an exhibition game.

The game will also include free-throw and three-point shooting contests at half time, which will feature many of Werner's former teammates who will be home from college for winter break.

Werner's parents, Kathy and Chris Pelkey, will attend, along with their other children, Fred Werner, 17, and Amanda Pelkey, 21, who played on soccer and basketball teams with her sister since they were little.

The family said they always call Bethani a light in their lives, and Kathy Pelkey said the fundraiser will help keep that light alive.

“I think it's really important for people to know lively, full of life, and full of laughter she was,” her mother said. “She would brighten up anybody's day.”

<p><b>If you go</b></p>

<p><b>What:</b> Bethani's Nite; Exhibition Basketball Game</p>

<p><b>When: </b>6:30 p.m. Dec. 18</p>

<p><b>Where:</b> St. Francis High School, 2130 W. Roosevelt Road, Wheaton</p>

<p><b>Cost: </b>Free. Donations to the Bethani Werner Fund will be collected at the event or donations can be made c/o Dipak Patel, Winfield Community Bank, 27W111 Geneva Road, Winfield.</p>