From combat to cattle-wrangling: Stroud woman honors late mother's military service by helping veterans
Courtney Fussell started the Lazy C Cattle Co. in Stroud to recognize her deceased mother's decades in the military
Courtney Fussell started the Lazy C Cattle Co. in Stroud to recognize her deceased mother's decades in the military
Courtney Fussell started the Lazy C Cattle Co. in Stroud to recognize her deceased mother's decades in the military
After her mother and young niece were killed in a horrific crash, Courtney Fussell wondered how she could continue.
“How can I, you know, really carry on? I went through a lot of dark times I'm still going through dark times,” she said.
Now, she feels like her mother is looking out for her.
“We have anguses, the jerseys, the limousines,” she said. “Jerseys that we got from a local farmer. And he, ironically enough his last name is Courtney. His farm's name is Courtney Farms. And I was like, 'Oh, that's a mom moment.' Like, you know, small little things that I'm like, 'You know, mom definitely did that.'”
Courtney and her family were headed for vacation when they got into a three-car crash.
“I remember very vividly telling my medic who was working on us. … I'm an EMT back in Maryland,” she said.
Her niece was killed. Her mother survived the wreck but was hit and killed, Courtney said, by a first responder who was arriving on scene.
“But I didn't know until I was completely stable before they took me in for my first surgery. They needed me to identify bodies,” she said. “And they had me do all of that before my first surgery and the off chance that I didn't survive the surgery.”
She did what she had to do and then began her own healing journey inside and out.
“I broke my right arm. I broke my left collarbone. I fractured my skull. I fractured my C6,” she said. “And I completely shattered my right femur.”
As she was lying in her hospital bed, she asked herself one question: “How can I, you know, really carry on?”
It took months, but Courtney decided to carry on by picking up where her mom left off. Her mom served in the Army National Guard for 23 years and, when she retired, wanted to give back to the military.
“She wanted to open up a program to eventually offer places for the veterans and active-duty military to come and learn how to farm,” Courtney said.
Courtney at the time was still in Maryland. She had the “why” but needed the “what” and the “where.”
“Maryland is absolutely ridiculous when it comes to you know land prices … would have cost us somewhere around five to $6 million whereas you know, out here that same property with you know, even better amenities like the house on it is, you know, a 10th of the price,” she said, “So, Oklahoma really fit the bill.
Both the state and its weather fit the bill.
“It had a little bit more temperate weather than Maryland and it doesn't hurt to walk outside. I can feel the metal in my body on really cold days. I couldn't, I couldn't walk, I couldn't get out of bed because the metal just really just shrunk up in my body,” she said.
About six months ago, Courtney and her boyfriend, Corbin, who’s also a veteran, moved to Stroud to build Lazy C Cattle Co.
“Get veterans out here to learn about the agricultural industry, have a place to, you know, not only come and learn and then leave but they have like a connection for, like, a lifetime,” Corbin said.
The two love their neighbors, their land, their animals and their mission. But they’re hitting a snag – supply chain problems and inflation.
But that obstacle is nothing compared to what Courtney has overcome. And she knows her mom is always with her.
“I think she would be, be really proud because, you know, I haven't stopped learning, I haven't stopped, you know, putting other people first because she was an incredibly selfless person and that was something that she definitely ingrained in me,” Courtney said.