Group pursues memorial to slain NIU student

For nearly two years, a white cross in Prairie Park has served as a memorial for Antinette “Toni” Keller.

But Keller family supporters hope to replace it with a “truer tribute” that reminds people of Keller’s cheerful personality, which is why they started a fund to install a steel sunflower-shaped bench near the park in her memory.

Keller, a freshman studying art at Northern Illinois University, was last seen Oct. 14, 2010, when she told friends she was going for a walk in Prairie Park. Burned remains were found in the park two days later, and it took forensic analysts about a week to determine that they were human.

William “Billy” Curl, who is charged with killing Keller, is scheduled to go on trial Dec. 3.

Friends and family often showed their support at community gatherings in Keller’s honor by wearing yellow – her favorite color. She also had a sunflower tattoo, which inspired a group to plant a sunflower garden last year in her memory in front of NIU’s Neptune North residence hall where she lived.

The fundraiser got rolling after a Keller family friend posted a photo of the bench on the Summoning of Yellow Facebook page, a page that supports families who have endured tragedies.

A few weeks later, a donor sent a check to be used specifically to purchase the bench. The bench, according to the Wildlife Wonders website, is on sale for $2,900, but the group hopes to raise enough to cover installation costs, as well.

“It’s an artsy sunflower bench that’s perfectly Toni,” said Thelma Holderness, administrator for the Summoning of Yellow Facebook page.

Holderness works as a janitor at NIU and said Keller was the first student she saw each morning.

Holderness said members of the Elks Club in DeKalb approached her with the idea of installing the green and yellow bench near the Elks Club property, which is next to Prairie Park.

“I would like to replace that cross,” Holderness said. “When I think of a white cross, I think of a car accident. What happened to Toni was not a car accident.”

Holderness said a few Elks Clubs in the area plan to get involved in the fundraiser, and are in the stages of planning a money jar campaign. She said there’s no timeline for when they hope the bench will be in place, though she expects fundraising to go quickly.

“It’s something I’ll be glad to see happen,” she said. “It’s a truer tribute to Toni.”