CORY'S STORY

Cory was born and raised in Fort Jennings, a tight-knit town in Putnam County, where he graduated from high school before enrolling at the University of Toledo. On January 8, 2000, while home on winter break during his first semester, Cory was involved in a serious alcohol-related car accident in which he was thrown from the vehicle. The crash resulted in a C4/C5 spinal cord injury, leaving him a quadriplegic.

His journey of recovery began immediately. Cory spent 29 days in intensive care at St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima—including a week in a drug-induced coma—followed by 55 days in intensive rehabilitation at The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, working through rigorous physical, occupational, recreational, and speech therapies.

Refusing to let his injury define his future, Cory returned to higher education. Finding Wright State University in Dayton to be more accessible for wheelchair users, he adapted to campus life with remarkable ingenuity. Cory hired student aides to help him navigate campus, open doors, and manage daily care. In the classroom, helpers took notes while Cory calculated complex math problems in his head. In his dorm, notes lined the walls as he painstakingly typed out his homework using a mouth stick.

Through sheer determination, Cory earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a 3.0 GPA, graduating in cap and gown on June 10, 2006—even though tests often took him up to four hours to complete.

Following graduation, Cory returned home to Fort Jennings, living in a custom accessible addition built through the overwhelming generosity and labor of his local community. He dedicated his life to giving back, serving as a inspiring high school mathematics teacher and as president of the West Central Ohio Paralysis Foundation, where he advocated tirelessly for others facing mobility challenges.

Cory passed away in April 2022. His story remains the heart of our foundation—a powerful reminder of strength, community support, and the relentless pursuit of purpose regardless of the obstacles in one's path. Obituary