Inspiring Change

The Cody J. Buss Memorial Foundation was created after the death of Shane and Renee’s oldest son, Cody.  He was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident June 2, 2023.  Cody was a certified welder and wanted to one day own his own welding business.  Cody first learned his love for welding in Mr. Grant Little’s Ag Class while attending Carl Albert High School and later enrolled in Mid-Del Technology Center in Midwest City, OK.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cody, volunteered his time with Hard Luck Automotive Services (HLAS), where he donated over 1500 hours to the community by performing minor car repairs for individuals in need. 

Cody, his brother, Brady,  and their friends all shared a love for hunting and fishing.  Together they formed an organization, HALO Outdors, that they all hoped to grow to provide an environment to share their love with kids that normally wouldn't get an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and experience hunting and fishing.  HALO Outdoors was established in 2019 and is slowly growing. Their goal is to honor Cody by creating a custom shirt with Cody's favorite waterfowl and his nickname Koot Killer. 

Cody's love for fishing was also impacted by a great organization known in Oklahoma as Oklahoma Fishing Fools (OFF). They are an amazing group who try to bring the community of fishing to anyone that wants to grow their knowledge and skills.

The Buss family and friends of Cody all recognized that Cody was the kind of person that would give the shirt off his back and the last dollar in his wallet to someone in need.  We have decided to keep Cody’s Spirit and Memory alive and have established a scholarship in his name.  The scholarship is aimed at providing select young adults attending tech school in the welding trade to help them with their needs as funding allows.

The goal of the CJB Scholarship Fund is to one day grow where we can sponsor at least one young adult in every Oklahoma Technology Center across the great state with a $500.00 scholarship along with welding equipment (helmet, gloves, markers, welding apron, etc) each year.  We are partnering with HLAS and will be giving back to this great organization as well It is our hope and dream along with the partnership of HLAS that we will be able to grow the CJB Scholarship to help young adults throughout Oklahoma to potentially one day start their own business in the trade industry.

Cody was our second child of four children.   As the oldest brother, he often took on the role as the "man of the house" when Shane was not home.  As a military brat, the Buss family got to travel to many places.  One of Cody's favorite places that we lived was Misawa AB, Japan.  At a young age Cody was not afraid to let those around him know what was on his mind.  He made friends everywhere we went. While in Japan, Cody saw some boys fishing and he walked right up to them and though there was a language barrier, Cody found a common ground as he was interested in fishing.
When we returned to the states, Cody showed an interest in football.  We signed him up to play for the local youth football team.  Cody was always the kind of kid that didn't want to hurt others and would stand up when he saw someone bullying others.  So when it came to football, he was afraid that if he hit them he would hurt them.  I had to explain that yes you could hurt somebody just like they could hurt him, but football wasn't about hurting anyone, rather a sport that he would learn to work as a team and be able to use the skills later in life.  To help him, we got him his own set of pads along with his brother Brady.  I explained to them both what their specific job was, Brady was going to run the ball and Cody was going to tackle him.  At first Cody didn't want to hurt his brother and was barely grabbing him.  I talked to Cody and explained again, that if he tackles Brady the way I showed him, the pads would protect Brady.  I also explained to Brady that his job was to break the tackle but if he felt that he couldn't, to prepare and hold onto the ball.  Both boys followed my direction and Brady ran perfectly, Cody tackled with the best Ray Lewis tackle.  Brady laid on the ground gasping for his breath and Cody stood over him with a tear forming.  I was proud of the hit Cody just made and also concerned for Brady.  I had to encourage them both. One that he did great and the other to take his time and just breathe.  Renee witnessed the hit and was also filled with mixed emotions. She too was trying to encourage them that they both did great jobs.  Cody and Brady both grew from this day.
We later had to move once again due to the military.  We relocated to the small town of Del Rio, Texas.  Cody again immediately began making friends.  We found out that Del Rio also had a youth football program and now both boys could play on the same team.  They became part of the Cowboys and would grow as individual players as well as brothers, cheering each other on.  The relationship they shared as they grew brought them closer and closer.  They were best friends.  
We later relocated for a final time in 2015.  This was supposed to be our last move of so many.  We moved our family to Oklahoma where Renee and I had been stationed before.  We chose to live in a school district that was one of the best.  I had to finish my career in the military in Texas for two more years, but we wanted our children to be able to start high school and finish at the same location.  I had two more years in the military before I could join Renee and the kids permanently.  Cody was about 12 and in his mind thought that he had to step up as the "man of the house" while I was still in Texas.  He helped Renee with the outside chores like mowing the lawn and other as he put it "manly jobs."  I was proud of all my kidos for supporting their momma and I.  
Cody found a love for wrestling and joined the school team.  He would come home and show the family what he learned and even taught his little sister some moves.  He said she's gonna need to know how to defend herself, at least until he could get there to protect her.  Well Cody did an amazing job, because after teaching her a choke hold, she  got locked around him and he had to tap out.  Maddie was smiling ear to ear and Cody was proud but also a little embarrassed that his little sister got him good.  Cody also found a group on Facebook called "Oklahoma Fishing Fools." He reached out to them and inquired about local fishing and what bait to use and every question he could think of.  This great group saw his interest and when Cody shared his story and about his family, this group adopted all of the kids.  They invited the entire family out to Draper lake where they provided Cody Brady, and Maddie with rods and other items to fish.
When Cody got into high school he found a new interest in his Ag class. He learned about small engines and then was introduced to welding.  Mr. Little recognized Cody's ability and passion and encouraged him to continue his welding education and helped him get into the Mid-Del Technology welding class.  Cody went on to Mid-Del Tech and learned a wealth of knowledge and grew his skills in the welding trade.  We would earn his welding certificate which helped him get closer to one day owning his own rig and being his own boss.
While Cody was in high school, like so many across the U.S., COVID 19 put a speed bump in his way but he did not let the restrictions impact his dream.  While searching for a job online, he found a video hosted by Mike Rowe called Returning the Favor.  It was about a disabled Veteran that worked on peoples cars for free.  Cody was so excited about it that he showed both me and Renee the video and said this guy is right here in our area.  Then he asked if he could reach out to Adam Ely and see if he could volunteer.  We told him that he could and a few weeks later we were dropping Cody off at Hard Luck Automotive almost daily.  Cody volunteered as much as he could.  It was like he had a full time job that he was so proud of.  Cody grew a friendship with Adam and I think Adam even adopted him in his eyes as his own.  
As Cody started to become more independent, he ventured out into the working world finding jobs and eventually found one with Belshe Trailers where he got his first real welding job.  Within a few weeks he came home telling us how his bosses recognized his welding skills and moved him to other areas where he ended up being one of the main welders that would inspect and fix other welders jobs making sure the trailers they sent out were top of the line.
Throughout Cody's late teenage years, Cody explored hunting, fishing, four wheeling in the mud and doing other things kids his age did.  He built relationships and found the girl of his dreams.  When Cody introduced his girlfriend to his family, we could see how happy he was. Breonna was an amazing young woman that showed Cody so much respect and encouraged him to be the best man.  As a father, I was proud of the young man Cody was becoming.  He was chasing his dreams and getting closer every day.  Cody found a partner to start contracting welding jobs on the weekends and was working towards establishing his name with the local ranches building fences and completing other welding jobs.  On a weekend they had a job to get done, a storm was in the forecast that would prevent them from getting it done.  Cody was not the kind of kid to let weather get in the way, so he and his partner talked and agreed they could probably get the job done in a day, if they could focus on it without too many interruptions.  That's exactly what they did, they got to the job Friday morning June 2, 2023, and worked all day and into the night.  At roughly 8:30PM they finished for the day and headed back.  Cody and his partner got back to the shop around 9 and Cody texted Bre and said he would be heading home soon.  This was the last text he sent to anyone.