In countless cases, families have been united in times of trial and tragedy. On January 19, 2007 junior Cole Morris’ mother Terri passed away in her sleep due to complications from a prescription medication.

The first few months after her death were “quiet” according to Cole who was just nine years old at the time.

“I knew [her death] was just something I had to deal with.” Cole said.

After his wife passed away, Cole’s father Don Morris was left to take care of his two sons, Dalton and Cole. They all had to learn to pitch in and tackle daily household chores such as grocery shopping and laundry.

“We all had to learn to get along together and cover what needed to be done, although there was some battles along the way,” Don said. “We had to be stronger. We had to rely on each other for certain things to get done. We had to become closer.”

Single parenthood had its day-to-day worries, according to Don. Keeping up with his sons’ schedules proved to be especially difficult.

“I had to deal with things at school that I wasn’t dealing with before like teacher conferences at the beginning of school and school clothes and fees,” Don said. “It was an adjustment we all had to go through together.”

According to Cole, he grew especially close to his dad.

“[Family is] a place where you can talk to anybody you need to, or if you need help with anything. It’s really important,” Cole said. “[My dad] was the only one who was really there so if I ever needed anything, there was nobody else to go to and that’s how we grew closer.”

The Morrises weren’t alone though. Their neighbors and other members of the community pitched in to support and assist their family when help was needed.

“My neighbors helped by taking me to baseball and football practices and school.” Cole said.

One of the other ways neighbors lent a helping hand to the Morris’ was with organized dinners.

“One of the ladies down the street had formed a calendar of nights with who was going to bring food by and they took rotations so that I didn’t end up with fifteen lasagnas in the freezer,” Don said. “We had a couple months at least of people bringing food for us.”

The widespread support demonstrated by friends, family, and strangers alike caught the family by surprise.

“It takes a village to raise a family. That’s absolutely true. The show of support from so many people around the community- some that I didn’t even know- was so amazing to me,” Don said. “Between [Don’s fiancé] Audrey, neighbors, grandparents- it was just the show of support I didn’t expect.”

Terri’s death eight years ago still imapacts the way the Morrises live today.

“Life is short and it can change in a heartbeat. So consider that from day to day and think about what you do and how you treat those around you,” Don said. “Don’t take things for granted, you learn to realize how quickly things can change.”