In memory of Cory Hagel, show support for his family

Hello

My name is Leo, I am Cory and Niki’s children’s grandfather and I’m helping to get financial and emotional support for Niki, his wife and 6 children & 2 grandchildren as Cory’s sudden and tragic passing on June 1st at Christina Lake at the age of 46. Niki is now left with the financial burden for her family solely on her shoulders with no more financial and emotional help from Cory. The loss of the dream of having Cory moving to be closer to the children and grandchildren was just days away when this tragedy occurred. This loss was emotionally hard on everyone as Cory had worked so extremely hard to overcome his dependency challenges and struggles and had made such good progress, especially in the past year. He had reached out to his older children and started to reconnect with them. The children where so excited at having dad being closer, to be able to reconnect with the loving father they remembered, to be there for their graduation, accomplishments and introducing dad to his new grandchildren. This family has been through some huge traumas over the years and are now faced with one more hurdle to overcome. If you can find it in your heart to help in any way you can in whatever way you can, it would be greatly appreciated. More in-depth history of what the family has gone through is listed below.

Cory’s celebration of life will likely be in Christina Lake BC and has not been yet finalized but is projected to be in the next 4-6 weeks to allow for logistics and travel for family and friends who will have to travel long distances. We will keep you posted.

In the short term we are trying to get help and assistance for the family in the following areas. If you have any financial resources, expertise or ability to help on any of the following points please let us know.

To support Cory’s children and Niki with their financial and emotional needs, here's a preliminary plan to date:

1. Immediate Financial Assistance:

o Establish a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for current and future expenses, including counseling for the whole family, up coming education costs for Cadence and Brielle, and day-to-day living expenses.

o Time off work and travel cost to Christina Lake for Cory’s celebration of life

o Contact local community organizations and charities that specialize in family support to inquire about financial aid options.

o Apply for government assistance programs and grants aimed at supporting families in similar situations.

2. Long-Term Financial Planning:

o Create a budget outlining essential expenses and prioritize spending to ensure financial stability.

o Explore opportunities for Niki to generate income from home or through flexible work arrangements that accommodate her caregiving responsibilities.

o Investigate educational scholarships and bursaries for Cadence and Brielle to reduce the financial burden for future education and training.

3. Emotional Support:

o Arrange regular therapy sessions for all the children and Niki to cope with grief and trauma.

o Organize support groups or join existing ones for families dealing with similar challenges to provide emotional solidarity and advice.

o Encourage open communication within the family to foster a supportive environment where everyone feels heard and understood.

4. Legal and Administrative Support:

o Consult with a family lawyer to navigate any legal aspects related to custody, estate matters, or financial claims that may be outstanding or unknown at this point in time.

o Ensure all necessary paperwork is in order for accessing financial aid, insurance claims, or any entitlements the family may be eligible for.

5. Community Outreach and Engagement:

o Utilize social media and local networks to raise awareness about the family’s situation and seek additional support from the community.

o Find local community organizations to organize fundraising events, such as bake sales or charity auctions, to supplement ongoing financial needs and promote community involvement.

6. Health and Well-being:

o Prioritize the health needs of each family member, ensuring access to healthcare services that may be needed short term and long term with and regular follow-ups.

o Promote healthy lifestyle choices and activities that contribute to physical and mental well-being for all involved, immediate and extended family.

As stated earlier if you can help finically, emotionally or have expertise in any of the above areas and would be willing to volunteer, that would be greatly appreciated. By implementing as many of these points as possible it will give Cory’s children and Niki a better chance at coping and working through the heartache, grief, stress and start the healing process.

Family Background

Cory and Niki met in their early 20’s and soon became inseparable, they built a life raising their 4 beautiful children and after 10 years of being together finally got married in Drayton Valley.

Cory was a perfectionist when it came to work, while in Drayton he worked at a welding fab shop where he enjoyed the challenges of building unique things and special projects. He loved working as a ticketed boilermaker and welder, he once said “ I cant build it out of wood, but I can build it out of metal”. He loved fabricating and building things.

Shortly after they got married, they moved back to Christina Lake and had 2 more beautiful baby girls.

About the same time, he changed his focus work wise. With his brothers help, Sandy he got work in Fort McMurray as a quality control inspector. Cory was very smart and was able to navigate through code books and QC packages and advanced himself quickly in this environment.

When he came home, he was a very devoted father, he did his best to spoil his family. Cory was very giving person and would send Niki flowers, bring home little things for the kids while travelling. Sometimes different things, like a Phineas the cat or Butter the pet pig. Always ensuring Niki and their children were cared for and loved.

However, Cory also struggled with some mental health issues from issues that arose from earlier life experiences that went mostly unnoticed and unresolved. This eventually caught up with Cory and he turned to substances use to help him cope. Things fell apart in late 2016 when he overdosed. The impact this had on not only Cory, but his young family was life altering. As a family they decided to move to Fort St John to get away from some of the influences and get a fresh start and get Cory the help he needed.

Things were good for a while but without actively seeking help for his mental health issues and the guilt he felt for some of his choices he made that impacted the children, Cory began to slip again.

In 2018 Cory and Niki separated, not an easy decision and not for the lack of love but necessary for the children’s wellbeing. Cory continued to be involved with his family until substance use took control of his life. Eventually with the help of family and friends Cory took on the challenge and work to get himself back. With a lot of hard work and determination he started to make progress and took steps to improve himself and get himself re-established.

Niki kept Cory abreast of the family activities and accomplishments and of their 2 new grand children that were born late 2022

Cory in the past year started contacting his older children and started building a relationship with them again. Things improved to the point he made a decision to move back to Alberta to be closer to his children and grand children. He was packed and days away from reuniting with his family when he was taken from this world.

We will never know what truly happened, but its such a heartache to have been so close and then have such a tragedy occur.

Now Niki and the children are going through such a permanent loss, there is no longer the hope that he will show up, be they’re for those special moments, the accomplishments, the special occasions. Meeting Austin and Kolby baby boy, Cooper. Madison’s baby girl, Lillith. Brielle’s graduation next year, Cadence going into a career and Kynlee and Luka’s milestones and achievements.

Cory will be deeply missed by all who knew him, but especially by Niki and their children.

Those who knew Cory and Niki, know they were both very humble and private and both struggled with asking for help. So, I am asking on their behalf if you can help the family, in any way your heart directs you, please do.

Thank you

Leo Nedelec