Bjerken children hold onto each other, faith

WASILLA — He may be the oldest man in their parents’ Palmer home now, but Corey Bjerken isn’t putting himself in the role of “dad” when it comes to taking care of his two younger sisters.

“I will never be dad,” Bjerken, 24, said Sunday as he and sisters Courtney, 20, and Kenzie, 16, gathered around their kitchen on East Times Square Circle. “What I can do is be a big brother and look out for you guys. We’re all just trying to work together here.”

It’s been seven weeks since their parents, Randy and Doris Bjerken, were hit by a car on Mother’s Day while walking down a sidewalk in Scottsdale, Ariz., and were pronounced dead shortly afterward.

Randy, 51, served as pastor at Matanuska Assembly of God, and Doris, 50, worked as a longtime administrative assistant at Colony High School, where her children attended school. They had been on a church retreat at the time of the tragedy.

The 23-year-old driver of the GMC SUV who ran over them reportedly fell asleep at the wheel around 10 that morning and was later charged with two counts of negligent homicide.

The Bjerken offspring said they’ve been in touch with a lawyer, but couldn’t say anything else about the incident other than that the driver’s lawyers are now claiming their client had a medical emergency of some sort that contributed to the accident.

“We’re praying for him,” Courtney said of the man who killed their parents. “We hope he’s doing all right.”

Asked whether they feel anger toward driver Andrew Whalen, none of them would admit it directly.

“That’s a tough one,” said Corey, a songwriter and guitarist who hopes to be a teacher one day. “We’ve all experienced a variety of emotions since the accident and are all trying to deal with it the best we can.”

Since none of their relatives live in Alaska and their older brother, Chris, 26, has his own family of four to raise in Palmer, they’ve been forced to fend for themselves, holding onto to each other, their faith in God, and the invaluable lessons their parents taught them over the years.

“In this sort of situation, there’s only one of two things you can do,” Corey said softly. “You can either strive on and press in and try to get closer to the heart of God, or you can go the opposite direction. The only option for us is to move forward. That’s what we’re doing. We’re just all kind of holding on to the same strength that my parents had.”

They all agreed that if it weren’t for their strong faith in God, the tragedy would have been still more devastating.

“It hurts,” said Courtney, who’s home from her second year at Trinity Bible College, the same school where her parents met years ago. “The whole thing is very weird. But it helps to know where they are and that we’ll see them again someday.”

Kenzie, the baby in the family, had grown accustomed to having her mom at the school and always available for morale support. She’ll be a junior this school year.

She said that although she has a great support system at CHS among her friends and school staff, there’s going to be a huge void when she enters those halls again for the first time.

“It’s going to be really hard to go back, but I gotta do it,” the soft-spoken blonde said. “I have a lot of support there, but it’s not the same now.”

In the days immediately after the accident, their church and school community pulled together to hold a combined memorial service at Colony High and a special bank account was established for donations.

Friends and neighbors have provided food and services non-stop, they said, and $13,000 was raised for them recently at a community poker tournament that charged $100 per head.

“Everyone has been so awesome,” Corey said, pointing to a pile of empty bowls and casserole containers on the kitchen counter that need to go back to their owners. “We haven’t had to cook for ourselves once. And people will just come over and mow the lawn without even asking.”

Corey also has been getting a great deal of support from the local music community and a new music studio in Palmer, “Uniting the North” (UTN). As the co-manager of the studio, he was able to cut his first CD “A Love Story” recently and enjoy a CD release party at the newest Wasilla coffee house, Brewed Awakening Bistro, across from Carl’s Jr., near Fred Meyer, Friday night.

Although his parents weren’t there physically, he said he’s sure they were there in spirit, cheering him on.

More than 50 friends and new fans gathered in the parking lot to hear his soulful voice and acoustic guitar as back-up singers Devon Shaw and Maddie Schenker harmonized and drummer Tory Rieless and bass player Dillon Williams provided the catchy beats.

Longtime friend Caitlyn Auldridge, a piano player in her own right, said she loves to see how much Corey has grown as a musician and now as a man.

“It’s been really hard on him since their loss,” Auldridge said. “Him having to be there for his little sisters and they’re trying to be there for him because he’s taking it the hardest, I think. He’s grown a lot through it and experienced a lot and I think because of that he’s able to come out with some good music and can use that as part of his story. He sings from the heart and things he’s walked through. That’s what makes his music so good.”

Between working at the studio, working at Utilities Technologies putting utilities in for GCI, and trying to deal with all the paperwork that comes with taking over a household, Corey said his main focus right now is just getting through each day — and the pain of losing his parents — with his sisters the best he can.

They plan on staying in the house their father built about 12 years ago with help from the church, they said.

“I never thought I’d be picking out caskets at 16,” Kenzie said, adding she wasn’t looking forward to picking out tombstones Monday with her siblings after she got off work as a Sears cashier. “But we feel so blessed to be in a community that cares so much. I think everything’s going to be all right. I just miss them so much.”

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.mckee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.