I met Cory through Matthew… Matthew doesn’t even remember how they first met… they have been friends for so long… around 25 years or so. Back when Matthew and I were first dating I heard many stories about Cory… they walked through many things together… tough things.
When I first met him, I understood why Matthew valued his friendship so
much. Cory was a true friend. I don’t know how to explain it… but if you
were Cory’s friend you were blessed. It
was the type of friendship that even it time passed without seeing him, you
could meet up and it was like no time had passed at all. He took the time to truly listen to you and
valued what you had to say. He served
like few others I know.
Back when we lived in Port Orchard, Cory started visiting us again. It was fun to get to know him and even introduce
him to some of my friends. Cory took
such an interest in people that he knew how much I loved Argentina and he went
out of his way to talk to me about Argentina and Mate (the common drink from
Argentina). He even came over to visit
my friends from Argentina when they were in town. He is one of the few friends from over there
that remained in contact when we moved over to Maple Valley. He saw firsthand what we were living through…
and he loved us through it all. He didn’t
turn his back on us like so many others did.
It was about 8 months ago that my friendship with Cory grew even
stronger. He came over to visit shortly
after returning home from Texas and had so much fun at our house that he
started coming over just about every weekend.
I heard lots of stories… from his crazy landlord, to work, to his dream
of opening a mattress store.
He called our house the “Mazdzer Retreat Center”… though I used to tease
him about how much work he would do when he was supposed to be “relaxing”. It brought him so much joy to serve others
and so he would come over and do small projects around the house for us. We would also work on things together… such
as trying to teach him how to make Monkey Bread. Of course, we made sure he relaxed some by
taking him camping with us or going shooting for the day. There were very few weekends he didn’t come
over to our house and I look around the house and have so many memories of Cory.
I don’t know how many times I have
broken down in tears this past week…
We found out he was in the hospital with Covid the day after we got home
from our month-long trip. I think he waited so he didn’t ruin our vacation…
that was the kind of guy he was. He was
pure love. He loved his kids beyond
measure. Every morning he would send
them a text… just so they knew he was thinking about them. It didn’t matter to him if they responded. He just wanted them to know he loved
them. I wish I could get a text from him
asking if the “Mazdzer Retreat Center” was open for the weekend. I wish I could
have more time with him. So many moments
lost…
I prayed for a miracle for a week… I know God can do miracles, but I also
know that He doesn’t always choose to do one.
So, even in my grief I rejoice that you are finally in Heaven… no longer
suffering or alone. Yes, it is hard to
say goodbye but I have hope that I will see you again.
As I was looking for the weather, I saw the covid report for the
day. While you may have been the only
one who died in Kitsap County, you are not just a number… you were a father, a friend,
a faithful servant of God. Your legacy
will continue to live on. Rest in peace
my friend.
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