After Losing Son In Hit-And-Run, Parents Remember His Legacy

WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY — Last week marked four years since Ralph and Holly Hubbard faced unthinkable grief and tragedy: On Jan. 17, 2014, their precious son 22-year-old Cory, a student at the University of Maryland, lost his life after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver.

According to the Prince George's County Police Department, Hubbard was killed while trying to cross Baltimore Avenue at Knox Road in College Park. The man who struck him, 30-year-old Liam Adepo, later turned himself in and was sentenced to two years in prison in 2015.

Reflecting on the four years that have passed, the Hubbards remembered their boy — and said an outpouring of concern has helped to carry them through even the darkest of days.

"Over the past four years, we have been touched by the love and support we have received from the community honoring Cory's life," the Hubbards said. "One of his college friends said he was glad to know Cory before he became bigger than life."

Cory's team number, 12, "has become synonymous with strong character and compassion for teammates," his parents said, with youth lacrosse teams in Westhampton sporting that number on all of their jerseys.

In the years since his tragic death, Cory has been honored at wrestling tournaments and with scholarships, as all who loved him have taken a collective vow to keep the memory of his bright smile, infectious laughter and penchant for travel, adventure, and gift for making the most of every day and experience alive forever.

Friends who travel the world display "Live Your Cor" stickers in memory of Cory from high atop mountains and in the midst of breathtaking natural displays, sharing those photos on social media.

The Live Your Cor Foundation was created in memory of Cory: "The goal of the foundation is to 'pay it forward' by providing financial assistance to families who have suffered adversity or a personal hardship," the website explains.

After his death, Ralph Hubbard, Cory's father, said, of Cory: "He was put here to make people's lives better, to give love and take love. That was his role, God's mission for him. And we're so lucky to have had him."

Their son, Hubbard told Patch, loved to travel and enjoyed family trips to national parks across the country, including Zion and Bryce National Parks, the Rocky Mountains and the Bandelier Monument in New Mexico, exploring the mesas where pueblo cliff dwellers once lived.

The young man took his penchant for travel and pursued it as a young college student, seeing Alaska, spending a semester in Australia and traveling to New Zealand, his father said.

"He said it was the trip of a lifetime," Hubbard remembered. "He was his inquisitive self. He always loved to travel."

"His college roommates were interviewed and said he was a peacekeeper," Cory's mother Holly Hubbard said. "He was the one always keeping everyone in check, as a lacrosse goalie, the one that gave everyone support on the field."

Through sports, including lacrosse, football and wrestling, and through REACH, a program to help the needy refurbish and build homes across the country that he pursued with the Westhampton Presbyterian Church, the young man "was quick to make friends," Hubbard said. "One girl told us that even though she'd only met him once, she'd never forget him."

The Hubbards, both four years ago, and now said they and their eldest son Kyle want to thank the community for the tremendous outpouring of love they've received — and for the knowledge that a legion of those who loved Cory Hubbard will work always to make sure his legacy lives on, his beautiful spirit a light forever.

Photos courtesy Hubbard family.