Courtney Price Oroszko
Courtney Oroszko is strong, smart, funny, a wise-ass and resilient. She’s a lawyer, a mother of two, and became a widow when her husband passed away from stage 4 esophageal cancer a few days before their anniversary and their son’s first birthday.
By all standards Courtney’s childhood was a charmed life. She grew up in upper middle class suburban Connecticut with her parents, sister and brother. She attended a private Jewish high school and then went on to the small, intellectual liberal arts college, Clark University. At Clark she made best friends for life, met her future husband, Patrick, and confirmed her desire to go to law school. She graduated from law school, became an Assistant DA in the city of Worcester, and married her college love.
Life was pretty good. She had goals for what was next in her life and things she wanted to improve, like any ambitious person, and life was unfolding as she expected. Courtney had always been quick witted, so much so that her mother recommended she become a lawyer to put her mouth to go use. She was funny sharing her every day observations and self depreciation. She was tough and strong as you need to be to create a life of your own design and have things work out as you want.
Six months after her wedding her strength and resilience were tested for the first time when her mother unexpectedly passed away on Christmas morning. She was young and healthy and her passing shocked Courtney and her family. The woman she spoke to every day and sometimes multiple times a day was gone. She still needed her. She still had questions.
As a shocking loss can do, it accelerated the plans Pat and Courtney had for creating their own family. Their first child, daughter Allison was born January of 2013 and then their son, Ryan, was born in June 2015. It was heartbreaking to have kids without her mother, especially her daughter being the first grandchild and with how close Courtney and her mom had been. Still it appeared life was giving them blessings to repair some of the heartache.
A few months after Ryan was born Pat started to complain about his throat and not feeling well. Being two exhausted parents with a new born and a two year old they kept putting it off. Finally Pat went to the doctor and after running a few tests, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Esophageal Cancer in November 2015. He was 33 years old. His daughter was 3 years old and his son just 5 month. Shocked and scared, he and Courtney instantly starting putting together a plan to beat the cancer. They found the best doctors. They started an online blog to share with friends and family the daily news, updates and moments of humor. With Pat being an athlete and so young, the diagnosis was good. They were optimistic. The chemotherapy started to work. Pat started eating again. He started feeling stronger again.
Almost seven months to the day of his diagnosis, June 5, 2016, Pat passed away surrounded by friends and family. Knowing he didn’t have much time, he was able to plan his memorial, to spend final moments with friends and to give Courtney specific instructions for what to when he was gone. For a second time Courtney was left heartbroken, feeling alone, and to learn just how strong and capable she was.
While Courtney’s life has had two major tragedies as well as the loss of close friends, she still finds the light, and the good and the humor in life. She’s keeping her promise to Pat to give their kids an amazing life. She’s keeping her promise to herself to have a career that makes a difference. After loosing Pat, she changed her role at work. She didn’t want to be prosecuting adults committing crimes against children as she had been in the Sexual Crimes Division. She needed for financial stability and consistent work hours as a single mom. First she moved to the Gang Crimes Unit and today she’s a Court Magistrate.
As of writing this bio, Allison is 6 and in first grade. Ryan is 4. They’re great. They’re happy. They talk about their dad and he’s part of their everyday life. They’re a prefect mix of their parents between dance skills, athletic abilities, humor and wise ass remarks. And while Courtney is honoring most of Pat’s requests, she is taking liberties such as getting a family dog which was always a no from Pat. His name is Clark, named after their college and just as fun and cute as the kids.
Courtney would love to take all the credit for how she and the kids are doing, but she’s also the first to admit that it’s because of support of their family and friends that they’re doing as good as they are. Once a year the boys come to help with spring cleaning of the yard. There’s always a person to call to help with the kids, come over with a meal or just come by and spend time with her and the kids. It takes a village and it’s a blessing that she has such a great village.
To follow, support, and connect with Courtney you can:
Listen to her Powerful Ladies Podcast and leave a comment.
Follow her on Instagram: @Cprice1080
Email her: Courtney.oroszko@gmail.com
Donate to her Jimmy Fund Campaign: http://bndfr.com/XCs9s
