Candlelight vigil for McCluer softball player Samantha Lipka

By Kay Quinn, Healthbeat Reporter

KSDK -- Another remembrance was held Veteran's Day. Family and friends gathered at McCluer High School Wednesday night and lit candles to remember Samantha Lipka.

Samantha, then 17, was a star softball player at McCluer. She was on her way home from a football game at Mizzou, riding in a friend's car, when she was killed in a car accident on Interstate 70 on November 11, 2007.

"Thank you god for giving us the gift of having Samantha and all of our loved ones in our lives," said Linda Lipka, Samantha's mother, in a public prayer.

More than 100 people stood on the parking lot near the softball field at McCluer; all there to remember Samantha in a remembrance planned by her mother Linda. Holding candles and balloons, the crowd remembered other young people killed in car accidents over the past two years, but especially the girl they call "Sam."

"I miss her and I remember her and I always will," said Sara Benoist, a friend of Samantha.

When asked what she missed about McCluer, classmate Brittany Carr said, "Her personality she didn't care what you thought, she'll tell you what she thinks. Yeah I miss her a lot."

And while two years have passed, for many, it feels like the blink of an eye.

"It still feels like yesterday, getting the phone call that she was in the accident," said Megan Wiegman, Samantha's best friend.

"I count every day," said Linda. "Today is 734 and I don't count them to be morbid, I count them because I prove to myself and I say to Sam every morning ok I'm up here, I got up one more morning for you."

Linda Lipka said she's learned a lot about grief in the two years since her daughter's death. And she wonders if society has forgotten how to mourn.

"What I want to share with you is we are not crazy when we have events like this or private moments of tears or group discussions that bring up memories of times past that's healthy," Linda told the crowd.

Clearly, sharing feelings publicly is not difficult for this crowd, as more than 100 shared tears and hugs on a chilly parking lot for an hour to remember the girl they call Sam.

The Lipka family is constantly surrounded by Samantha's friends, even two years after her death.  The Lipkas have given away six scholarships in Sam's name since November 11, 2007, with more to come.