Stand By Cody & Family in Their Time of Need

Hello everyone:

With the recent passing of my brother on Easter Sunday, I want to ask for your assistance to help offset a loss of wages for his son, my nephew Cody. The past couple of weeks Cody needed to take time away from work to be with his dad and to embrace his father's passing.

The love, pride and joy my brother had for Cody, goes without saying. Bill only had one child, Cody.❤️

As you are now aware, Bill passed away on 04/20/2025. Leading up to Bill's passing, Cody missed quite a bit of work and spent every day at the hospital with his father. This past week he also took off work to plan for his dad's Celebration of Life and to settle his dad's affairs. His dad’s Celebration of Life will take place on 5/17/2025 from 6-9 p.m. Please see the separate Facebook posting or reach out to us directly for information.

Many of you are not aware, but Cody has been working very hard for the past three years to get his electrician's journeyman card. He is an electrical apprentice of IBEW Local 153. He is at the very end of his program and will graduate on May 9th.

In addition to attending the rigorous apprenticeship program, Cody has also been attending college courses which will reward him with another degree when he graduates on May 9th, 2025. We are so very proud of him.

During the time Cody was in the apprentice program and college, he also got married to his lovely wife Brook. They also had a baby and purchased a new home. Brook and Cody have an amazing little 2-year-old bundle of joy and excitement, Joslyn. In addition to all of these life prizes, he usually spent time with his dad several times a week.

Brook works part-time and because of the exorbitant cost of childcare, she spends most of her time at home raising Joslyn. They have been very busy and are a very responsible young couple.

As apprentices, these union members do not receive the full pay scale that an electrical journeyman receives. They also don't receive paid time off from the union. If they don’t work, they don’t get paid.

Cody and Brook live a modest life, and at times money can be very tight. They haven’t been able to build up their emergency fund yet and could use a helping hand now.

After Cody takes his state boards sometime over the next couple of months, he should start getting compensated with higher scale earnings for the commitment he made to achieve his goal and dream.

Fortunately, brother Bill had a small life insurance policy that will cover everything associated with his passing. There will be very little left over for Cody’s financial loss of having to take time away from work. He will return to work on the 28th.

As you are probably aware, when a close family member passes away, life completely gets out of cycle, and it can become even more stressful to get ahead. I'm hoping that I can call on those who are able to gift Cody and Brook with a little blessing as they work through these hard times.

Our Cody and Brook are normally very self-sufficient and a proud and happy young family. They are not asking for assistance. I am asking for them because I personally know how hard it can be to ask for assistance at times, especially times like these and especially when you're young and feel like you may be facing the world alone at times. When I approached Cody about making this request, he initially was not in favor. I reminded Cody that when life gets tough, that’s when we need our community the most and when people want to help when they can. He said he understood and agreed to allow me to post this request.

If you are inclined, all cards and letters can be mailed to:

Goben Family

PO Box 326

Watervliet, MI 49098

In closing, I want to thank you for taking the time to read this request and for giving it consideration. We appreciate you!

Thank you

Gary