Words simply cannot express my condolences enough. I had the honor and privilege of riding with Cory on a train for 3 hours for a server relocation. Super down to earth and totally relatable. Although he was my boss, he never made me feel intimidated or uncomfortable during our time together on that task. A stand up guy in every sense of the word and the world lost a good one with his passing. Prayers to his wife and kids in these difficult times ahead.
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Kari Jo, Nathan, Caroline, Henry, Betsy,
I love Cory. I love your family. I love how yall included me and then Ashley into your family. I love how you showed us that raising four kids could be joyful. I've been thinking these last couple of days about what Cory meant to me. Then I was reminded about the verse in Ps 46: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Cory for me reflected this characteristic of God... his steadfastness, the strength of his presence, his humility... Cory was " an ever-present help in trouble." Cory was ALWAYS consistently Cory. He was unflappable. He never wavered in who he was in Christ. He never took himself too seriously and he didn't let the circumstance of his situations alter the way he approached life... with that child-like faith that God has everything in control. This rubbed off on everyone around him. I remember when he was in the hospital with an illness years back. I was distraught and worried for him. I visited him at the hospital and I cried seeing him in his hospital gown, vulnerable and weakned by surgery. I was moved though when I saw the compassion on his face for me (?!). In his time of weakness, his spirit encouraged and strengthened mine.
I was blessed to have spent some time with Cory last summer after Tim's memorial at Jim and Merritt's apartment. I thank God that He gave us the opportunity to catch up after many years apart. What a precious gift! I will miss him dearly.
We love yall so much and are praying for you.
4
I was so sorry to hear about Cory's passing. He was always so fun to be around and converse with whenever he was in Minnesota for our IT outings.
1
Very sorry for your loss. Worked with Cory about 20 years ago.
1
In the collage of Redeemer memories is the image of the Cates family on their late Sunday afternoon walks to W83. Cory and Kari Jo at the center of the adventure. "We're a 5pm family." How did Nathan describe his siblings in high school? "They're pretty much my favorite people in the world." Godly parenting fosters affections like that.
I cannot think of a wife or family who will miss their husband and father more than Kari Jo, Nathan, Henry, Betsy, and Caroline, will miss Cory. Our love, sympathy, and prayers are for you.
5
2022, Waderick Wells Cay, The Bahamas
4
I have so many great memories of dear Cory. One where he single handedly saved Ezra’s 5th Bibleman birthday party. 10 boys, drop off party, 400 square foot apartment, 3 55lb dogs also in said apartment. Pizza & sugar charged mayhem ensued and Cory wisely stayed at the party. When I placed a metal popcorn tin filled with 10 light sabres in middle of the chaos for the boys to play with, ( for I wasn’t sure what else to do) Cory immediately, wisely redirected the whirlwind of screams and swishes of sabres- bringing all the boys to the playground across the street, all the while smiling and laughing and engaging all those boys. As he always did. Hero of the day! 💕
7
Dearest Kari Jo,
Lifting you and yours in prayer, dear girl...
Love,
Barbara Camp
1
If Only I Had a Tutor Like Cory: Betsy shared in youth group about how her dad was helping her prepare for NYC’s SHSAT (Specialized High Schools Admissions Test). She talked about the system they had and her tutoring schedule. I was fascinated hearing about this fatherly love. How Cory was sincerely building up Betsy for success.And then a couple years after that, Cory mentioned at work how he was helping Caroline prepare for the ACT/SAT. I was intrigued again. Cory was truly a devoted father. He spent such quality time helping his children succeed, especially in stressful seasons like the SHSAT and ACT/SAT prep. I will never forget this remarkable parenting trait in Cory.
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Diet Dr. Pepper and Stephen Smith: At work, we kept the TV on for only 2 channels during the workday: CNBC and ESPN. I picked up on how the channel would slowly change from ESPN to CNBC when the Stephen A. Smith show came on in the morning. Cory was one of the nicest people I know. To see this gentle giant take the remote and slowly turn the channel, I soon realized that he didn’t prefer his commentary. It later became a fun game for me to change the channel for Cory before he did when the show came on. It was Diet Dr. Pepper in the afternoon, and anything but the Stephen A. Smith show in the morning.
4
Superman's Quick Uber: We had a work party for a special person’s birthday one evening. Someone (who will remain nameless) had too much to drink that night. I told Cory that we needed to rescue this person. Cory was like superman in action. We quickly got an Uber for our colleague, told the driver where to go, gave them a generous tip, and passed no judgements when our colleague was hurting the next day. Cory was truly like superman.
5
Apple of His Eye: Cory loved to share news at work about his children. His face would light up, there would be a sparkle in his eye, and the busy pace of our office would calmly slow down for a bit. Just seeing Cory’s reaction talking about his children was special to us all.
From watching Huddle videos of Henry, to moving Nathan to Albany, to his Betsy Boo’s basketball games, to college searching with Caroline, to building an awesome tree fort with his kids…. these are some of many stories he shared with us about his children. With the many accomplishments he made at work, nothing compared to his pride and joy in his beloved children.
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