LITTLE ROCK — It was only fitting that Winston Penn “Win” Wardlaw play the lead - the carefree Elwood P. Dowd, who speaks to an imaginary rabbit - in Harvey at Catholic High School for Boys in 2008.
Principal Steve Straessle said he’ll never forget when Wardlaw spoke the line: “I always have a wonderful time just where I am, whomever I’m with.”
“When I heard Win speak those words onstage, it was one of those times when fiction and reality met and, for a moment, I couldn’t figure out if that was Elwood speaking or Win Wardlaw speaking,” Straessle said.
Wardlaw, 20, died Wednesday in a scooter accident in Clark County while serving as a counselor at Camp Winnamocka outside Arkadelphia.
He was born April 13, 1990, to David Wilson and Mary Frances Scott “Susie” Wardlaw. Growing up in Little Rock with two brothers, Wardlaw graduated from Catholic High in 2008. While there, he served as the student body president his senior year and was active in theater.
Straessle, who had known Wardlaw for about eight years, said Wardlaw received two of the three major awards that are presented at every graduation - the Senior of the Year Award and the Unselfish Service Award.
David Wardlaw said his son would have been a junior this year at Rhodes College in Memphis, where he was majoring in international studies.
Win Wardlaw was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and remained strong in his Presbyterian faith, his father said.
He added that his son had an “eclectic” personality. He wore rainbow colored flip-flops, and listened to techno and classic rock.
Boy Scouts was a big part of Wardlaw’s life, his father said. At 15, he became an Eagle Scout, the highest rank.
David Wardlaw remembered a camping trip where he and his son, two city-dwellers, found a way to avoid a “monsoonlike” rain.
“We slept in the Suburban, and Win turned to me and said, ‘This is great,’” his father said. “We didn’t get wet.”
Win Wardlaw liked being a Camp Winnamocka summer counselor. He enjoyed the “culture, adventure and fun” of it, his father said.
On Wednesday night, Wardlaw and his fellow counselors were riding scooters about 3:20 a.m. on the camp premises during a 12-hour break, his father said.
Wardlaw’s scooter hit a steep embankment, which led to his fatal crash, David Wardlaw said. The initial police report said the vehicle was a motorcycle.
“It’s just like your worst nightmare,” David Wardlaw said of his son’s death.
Th e Catholic High School Auditorium in Little Rock was packed to capacity Thursday for a prayer service held in memory of Win Wardlaw, Straessle said.
One of his best friends since kindergarten, Garrett Quinn, spoke at the service and said Friday that Wardlaw was the “definition of a sense of humor.” Quinn remembered spending almost a month with Wardlaw after their senior year, traveling with friends to Florida, San Diego and on a cruise.
The most memorable moments were in San Diego, seeing the San Diego Padres and deep-sea fishing, Quinn said.
“We’d be in the car with the music blaring, and we were singing ‘No Air’ by Jordan Sparks. We had a lot of goofy moments and laughed a lot,” Quinn said. “If you ever wanted to laugh, you’d hang out with Win. His smile is just so contagious. It just makes you happy.”
Arkansas, Pages 16 on 06/26/2010