Wall Planned as a Memorial and a Measure of Tragedy

The image has sustained Ronald and Janice McInroy through the last few months: thousands of names of drunken driving victims engraved on a wall built of Italian marble.

They see it as a place where strangers can come to share their mutual loss. And to make a point.

Five days before last Christmas, the McInroys’ daughter, Lori Ann Curler, 34, of Orange, was killed by a drunken driver. She left a husband of seven years and a 6-year-old son.

“We’re providing a place where . . . victims can get together, a place to see that their loved ones are not just names you read in the paper,” said Ronald McInroy, 65, of Anaheim Hills.

The family hopes that the Victims of Drunken Drivers Memorial Wall, like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, would make people realize the magnitude of the tragedy.

The McInroys have raised about $12,000 of the $60,000 needed for construction of the wall. They need half of the amount before they can order the marble from Italy.

As planned, the wall would be 16 feet high and 12 feet wide. It would be housed in the mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cypress, which would donate the space and provide lighting.

Several thousand names, each about two inches high, would fit on the wall, along with a carving of an angel. A meditation bench would be placed nearby.

The money is being raised through a grass-roots effort, which has led to bonding among families of people killed in drunken driving accidents.

Curler’s brother, Kevin McInroy of Lake Oswego, Ore., said he received a call from a woman who is putting $5 into a cookie jar each week for the wall. The McInroys are asking for $250 for each name, the cost of engraving up to 30 characters including birth and death dates.

Those who want more information about the memorial can call (800) 359-2685 or write to the Victims of Drunken Drivers Memorial Wall Foundation, 5761 East La Palma Ave. Suite 190, Anaheim Hills, CA 92807.