What friends remember most about Courtney Wilkinson, 15, and her brother Micah, 9, is the joy they brought to everyone around them.
Tomorrow, friends and family members will gather at Garfield Baptist Church in Pewaukee to say goodbye to Micah and Courtney, children of Ammie and Walter Wilkinson of West Allis.
Courtney, a freshman at Nathan Hale High School, died at 1:35 a.m. Saturday after a traffic accident near Aurora, Neb. Micah, a third-grader at Gen. Mitchell Elementary School, died in a Nebraska hospital later Sunday morning, according to an Aurora Memorial Hospital spokeswoman.
Courtney, Micah and another brother, 12 year-old Marc, were on their way to a spring break ski trip in Vail, Colo. said Jeanne Rieland of West Allis, a friend of the Wilkinson family.
She said it had become a family tradition for the children to spend spring break with their maternal grandparents, Carol Geithman, 59, and Lowell Geithman, 63, of New Berlin, at the couple's Colorado condominium.
Rieland said the children were traveling with their grandparents when the accident occurred on Nebraska's Interstate 80.
According to Dale Wiegert, dispatcher with the Nebraska State Patrol, Carol Geithman was driving westbound on Interstate 80 in the early hours of Saturday morning. Wiegert said she was passing a semi-trailer when she apparently lost control of the Lincoln Town Car. The car crossed the highway's median strip and collided with another semi-trailer truck.
Marc, a sixth-grader at Mitchell Elementary, and his grandparents were treated and released from a Nebraska hospital.
Rieland, of West Allis, said news of the tragedy hit friends and neighbors hard. Many of them gathered at the Wilkinson home Sunday night to support Ammie, Walter and Marc when they returned home from Nebraska.
"There were probably 15 to 20 girls and guys in Courtney's bedroom (Sunday) night, and they were just devastated," Rieland said. "Not just friends from high school, but also from church."
Rieland said Courtney and her surviving brother, Marc, just celebrated their birthdays last week.
Courtney was so bubbly, and the same with Micah," she said. "They were everybody's friend."
Alex Tessmer, 15, said he first met Courtney when both were students at Frank Lloyd Wright Middle School.
"She was a loving, caring person that was always there for you," Alex said. "She was just full of life and always happy. You could go and talk to her and she'd just listen to you.
"She'd always talk about opening up your heart to God."
Hale freshman Ashley Hopf said Courtney was also a good student who always made a contribution to discussions in social studies classes.
Judy Ladwig, who lives next door to the Wilkinsons in the 2800 block of South 99th Street, said Micah walked to Mitchell School every day with her son, Brandon.
Brandon Ladwig, 9, said Micah was known as "Squirrel," a nickname given to him by his grandfather.
"He had a lot of friends," Brandon said, and often organized backyard baseball, soccer and football games.
He said Micah also loved to build things with his Lego blocks and construct forts in the backyard sandbox. In winter, the boys built snow forts and challenged each other to snowball fights.
Micah, Brandon and boys from the neighborhood were playing baseball Thursday night, the day before the Wilkinson children left for their trip. Judy Ladwig said the boys were having so much fun they didn't want to come in for supper.
"It was like they didn't want the game to end," she said.
Judy Ladwig said her 6-year-old daughter, Nicole, looked up to Courtney like a big sister.
"Courtney would crimp her hair, or Nicole would come home with her nails all done," Ladwig said. "Courtney was always very good to the younger kids."
Dan and Karen Hobbs of Wauwatosa are primary church school teachers at Garfield Baptist Church, where Micah attended Sunday School.
"He was just a tender-hearted little boy," Karen said. "He loved to sing to the Lord and was always willing to give a hug when he left."
David Koenig, 9, was one of Micah's classmates at Mitchell School.
"He was funny sometimes and then real serious," David said.
Micah liked doing math problems, and worked with David on a recent science project. When asked what he'll miss most about Micah, David said, "Probably everything."
Memorial crosses and flowers now dot the Wilkinson's yard, where young Micah often romped with other boys in the neighborhood.
Rieland said the Wilkinson family decided to help keep Micah's memory alive by participating in the organ transplant donation program.
She said William Bernard, pastor of Garfield Baptist Church, has been a source of spiritual strength for the Wilkinsons since they first heard the stunning news of the accident.
"This church has been just an incredible amount of support for the family," Rieland said. "That's what's getting them through."
Visitation is from 3 to 7 p.m. tomorrow at Garfield Baptist Church, N35 W22000 Capitol Dr., Pewaukee. Interment will be at Pine Lawn cemetery.
Memorials are suggested to the Wilkinson Family Memorial Fund, c/o Guardian Credit Union, 11333 W. Greenfield, West Allis, WI 53214. The Wilkinsons would like to use the funds to offset medical expenses and for construction of a playground to be dedicated to the memory of their children.
West Allis-West Milwaukee School Superintendent Harold Sloan said counselors will be available at Hale and Mitchell when students return from spring break Monday.