Tuesday, May. 13, 2008

Walden always had a sunny outlook on life

She could wear tie-dyed T-shirts one day and pearls the next.

Jam to Janis Joplin and Dave Matthews or Britney Spears and rap.

Fall right in with a crowd of new friends in the sunny South or return to brighten the lives of her northern compatriots in wintry Ohio.

Socialize with verve in USC’s Greek Village or hang out with non-Greek friends at Pavlov’s in Five Points.

“People were just happier that she was around,” said close family friend David Steines, 21, a junior at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

Born Allison Christine Walden, this bright girl was the youngest child of Diane and Terry Walden of Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

The 19-year-old also was one of seven college students tragically killed in the Oct. 28 Ocean Isle beach house fire that has left hundreds of friends and family members stunned and racked by grief.

While most knew her as Allison, she also went by “Allie,” though no single spelling stuck for the nickname.

“When I first met her, she introduced herself as Allison,” said Delta Delta Delta sorority sister and roommate Fallon Sposato, a USC sophomore from Orlando, Fla.

But “Allie” soon became as familiar as the young woman’s bright and happy ways.

“She loved to meet people, loved to go out,” said Sposato, who was among the fire’s six remarkably lucky survivors.

“A lot of people around here hit on people from the North, but Allie never really got that because she pretty much fit in where she was,” Sposato said.

Allison’s father, Terry Walden, a rock in the midst of whirl of tragic news and media interviews, said his daughter picked the University of South Carolina because she had wanted to go to college where it was warm and sunny.

That decision seems to reflect who Allison was in many ways.

“Allison looked always on the bright side of life,” Terry Walden said. “She always had a lot of friends and always wanted to be part of the social scene.”

Part of that social circle included Allison’s brother, Greg, 21, a junior at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va.

“She and her brother were so close — closer than any two siblings I’ve ever met,” said Steines, who is Greg’s closest friend.

After pausing to consider Allison, Steines offered the greatest compliment a big brother’s friend could offer: “Allison never tagged along ... everyone liked to have her there, including Greg.”

When Steines received word about Allison’s death, he was the friend who drove to Blacksburg to pick up Greg Walden and bring him home.

The sadness only broke late into the night several days later, when a group from Ohio found themselves together in the quiet of the early morning, unable to avoid the reality of Allison’s absence.

“It kind of got to the point where we could reflect and tell stories about her,” Steines said. “And people would laugh. I think it was really good. I hope a turning point.”

Among those friends was Allison’s high school boyfriend John Blecher, 21, a junior at the University of Kentucky. Despite attending schools away from one another, the two had remained close.

“She was just a great person who had so many good things about her ... so smart and intelligent, and really loyal and honest,” Blecher said, struggling for words. “She was one of a kind. I don’t think I’m ever going to meet a person like her ever again.”

Jenna Shission was another of those friends gathered that night. Allison’s plans the weekend she died had originally been to visit Shission at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

“I don’t know of one other person who could have had this affect on Chagrin (Falls High School). From five grades above us to five grades below us, everyone loved her,” she said.

That was evidenced by the hundreds who attended her funeral on Saturday, including a student who flew home from Germany. And on the online guestbook where condolences are posted with Allison’s obituary in The Cleveland Plain Dealer, notes have been sent from the grieving in more than 15 states.

Shission recalled trips she and Allison had made together — to New York City for a Dave Matthews concert; the Dominican Republic for spring break their senior year. She also recalled their summers before college working in the dining hall of a local retirement home.

Allison befriended all the residents, Shission said.

That was partly because Allison was such a great listener who had a unique way of buoying those around her.

She was deeply loyal, too, Shission said. If you told Allison something private, you knew it would stay that way, she said.

“She was the best person to keep a secret.”

Shission said she had spoken by phone with Allison just a few weeks ago about some troubles she was having at Ohio State, and Allison had encouraged her to hang in there.

“I wish I could tell her how it came out,” Shission said.

Reach Askins at (803) 771-8614.

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